Evolving Padfoot
by trendyfishie89
Summary: The chronicles of Sirius Black as he strives to make something of himself. Companion piece to Becoming Moony but reads as a stand alone. SLASH SB/RL. Drug use, Alcoholism, and an abundance of Chinese food. Mature themes.
1. Bittersweet World

This is not mine: I own nothing, nothing, nothing

This is not mine: I own nothing, nothing, nothing! Ashlee Simpson has the rights to the song: Bittersweet World.

So here is the newest story. It's basically a different point of view for Becoming Moony. I hope you like it. Remember: Reviews make my day! Flames are used to roast marshmallows.

_There's a universal bottom line,_

_Everybody's in disguise._

_Even You and I_

Chapter One: Bittersweet World

"It's my birthday! Wake up, Reggie! It's my birthday!" Sirius Black, aged five, jumped up and down upon his little brother's bed. When tired blue eyes opened to look at his crazy sibling, Sirius plopped down next to him, gave him a wet kiss on the forehead and jumped off the bed to find someone else to bother.

Regulus Black, aged four, turned over and went back to sleep. It was only seven in the morning after all; there was plenty of time left to sleep.

Sirius stumbled down the stairs to where his early rising parents were inevitably waiting, "Mummy, it's my birthday!"

"Yes, Sirius." Walburga rolled her eyes and went back to making her morning tea. Sirius frowned and went to stand next to his father.

"Papa, it's my birthday!"

"Is it? And how old are you turning?" Orion peered over his spectacles at the spectacle that was known as Sirius.

"Yup! I'm five!" Sirius's smile came back as his father played along.

"Are you now?"

"Yup!"

"It's 'yes', Sirius." Walburga admonished, waving her teaspoon around.

"Oh, let the boy alone for today, Walburga, it is his birthday." The woman sniffed and returned to the Prophet. Sirius smiled at his father and rested his head on one great thigh. His father was a very large and brave man; Sirius wanted to be just like him when he grew up. Orion patted his eldest son's head gently, brushing through the knots he found.

Sirius sighed happily, there was only one other person he loved more than his father…his Uncle Alphie. The Floo activated and a tall man fell from the fireplace cursing.

"Uncle Alphie! You're here! You're here!" Sirius ran toward his favorite uncle. Alphard grinned and swung his nephew up into the air.

"Hey, Sirri-pie! How's the world treating ya?"

"Good." Sirius giggled happily and pressed his cheek against his uncle's chiseled jaw. Alphard hugged him tightly before setting him back on the floor.

"Morning, sister." Walburga sniffed disdainfully at the forced greeting. The stairs creaked and the occupants of the room turned to see Regulus coming down the stairs, blanket and all. "Reggie! Wake up, lad, and smell the bacon!"

"There's bacon?" came the sleepy reply.

Walburga jumped up, "If you want…Kreacher!"

Orion glanced at Alphard and rolled his eyes. Sirius laughed behind his hands, "Mummy, I want bacon too!"

"Quiet Sirius, your brother isn't used to such loudness this early in the morning, are you sweet?" Walburga cooed as she lifted Regulus to her hip.

Sirius pouted, "But it's my…"

"Birthday, yes, we know."

"Now, dear, don't be so hard on him. He's only a boy." Orion tried to soothe his wife, sensing a tantrum.

"Who cares, Orion! He's loud and obnoxious. Regulus is much weaker and needs his peace and quiet. As do we all."

Sirius wrapped a hand around Alphard's knee, not wanting to be there any longer. He didn't know he was hurting Reggie. Regulus looked as his mother, confused, he wasn't sick. At least, he didn't think he was.

/page break/

Sirius smiled as his Great Aunt Dorea hugged him. He liked Auntie Dory, she brought him candy and other treats, even if it wasn't his birthday or Christmas. Uncle Charlus patted him on the head briefly before going to speak to Alphard.

"Now, how old are you again, eleven? Twelve?"

"No, Auntie! I'm five!" Sirius giggled.

Dorea smiled and waved her hand flippantly, "Silly me. I must be getting old."

"You're not old, you've just matured slightly." Sirius gave his most innocent smile and felt a spark of happiness as his aunt laughed.

"Oh, but you are the cute one, aren't you? Going to be a heartbreaker, I can tell." Dorea gave Sirius one last hug, then stood and made her way to Grandmother Irma's side.

"Russi?" Sirius grinned as he felt a little hand slip into his own.

"Reggie?"

"Am I sick?"

Sirius frowned and put his hands on his brother's cheeks, "You don't look sick and you aren't hotter."

"Mummy says I'm fragile. Does that mean I'm sick?"

Sirius pondered for a moment before shaking his head, "No. Remember Reggie; you can do whatever you want to do, no matter what anyone else says. 'Kay?"

Regulus grinned and hugged Sirius tightly, "'Kay."

"Sirius! Regulus! Come and give your Aunt Druella a hug!" Both boys groaned as they thought of being smothered by the disgusting perfume and waxy lips.

"Just remember Reggie, smile and nod. We are very cute; everyone wants to be like us, that's why we're so popular. Besides, Aunt Druella and Uncle Cygnus don't have boys, they're not used to being normal."

"Right." Regulus nodded solemnly and the two boys turned, plastered smiles on their faces and went to greet their girly aunt.

Their cousins stood next to their mother, dressed to the nines. Bellatrix was very gothic in her pure black. Her long black hair was pinned at the sides and then dripped down her back, "like spilt ink" whispered Regulus. She glared at Sirius but reached down to pat Regulus on the head. She didn't like Sirius much, but it may have had something to do with Sirius slinging her bras out of the window at the neighbors the summer before. At fourteen, Bellatrix was very particular about her possessions. Bra slinging of any type was not permitted.

Andromeda was the best cousin in Sirius's opinion. Her hair was cropped into a cute bob and was styled neatly. It wasn't boring like Bella's ("Bellatrix, you twit!") and made her look very pretty. She was a lot more fun too. She liked to play Quidditch and climb trees. She didn't care much for studying either. Latin and French were too hard when the sun was shining.

Narcissa was a completely different story. She was definitely the most girly of the three. As the baby, her mother and father pampered her to no end. "She's more spoiled than us!" was the general consensus between the two brothers. But as the youngest girl she had 'special privileges' that no one else did.

"Hello, Sirius, Regulus. How are you today?"

"Fine, Aunt Druella. How are you?" The pointless politeness was beginning to grind on Sirius's young nerves. It was his birthday, he was five years old, he wanted to run and play!

"Mummy, may we go outside? I want to play!"

"Sirius, be a little more considerate to your guests. They are here for you after all."

"Okay, I guess." Sirius felt his shoulders slump. Bellatrix snickered into her glass. Regulus glared at her and Sirius felt better.

/page break/

Sirius stared in disgust at the 'presents' he had received. Books! Every single one was a book! Except for Uncle Alphie…the racing broom was the best present. He didn't want books! He wanted toys like Regulus. Regulus had tons of toys; every size, color, and shape you could imagine. And Sirius got books; it wasn't fair.

It wasn't as though he hadn't asked for certain things, he had. He had even written down where to find said items, why did he get books. His mother hadn't gotten him anything, but had gotten Regulus three toys! It wasn't even Regulus's birthday!

Sirius felt his eyes fill with tears…it wasn't fair, he though miserably. He was good, wasn't he? Maybe he really_ had_ hurt Reggie. Maybe his baby brother really _was_ sick! He hadn't meant to!

"Russi? I can't sleep. Can I stay with you?" Regulus stood in the doorway with his blanket and Mr. Cuddles. Sirius didn't really feel like company, but what happened if Reggie felt bad and Sirius sent him away? He could get hurt worse! No, it was better to stick it out.

"Come on, Reggie." Sirius said, holding the blankets back so that Regulus could clamber up.

The two boys curled together, Mr. Cuddles between them. Their little hands twined and their breaths mingled. All you could see of the two was little tufts of black curls. Sirius kissed his brother's forehead as he fell asleep, he would take care of his little brother. Sirius would protect Reggie forever, even if it killed him.

A/N: Reviews make me happy!


	2. New Soul

Standard Disclaimer Applies. New Soul rights go to Yael Naim.

Evolving Padfoot: New Soul

_I'm a new soul, I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take. _

Sirius stared at the countryside passing him by with vague disinterest. It wasn't as though he hadn't been on a locomotive or seen some sheep. What was with all of these other children going gaga over a few sheep? It wasn't even the younger students either!

Sirius huffed and plopped his chin into his hand, why did purebloods have to take the train? Floo or portkey was so much easier and took a quarter of the time it took to ride this old heap of junk. Sirius knew the Reggie would like the train though; Reggie liked trains. Sirius hated trains; he preferred flying any day.

Thinking about Reggie hurt. Sirius missed his little brother to a degree that was, quite possibly, stupid. The little boy had burst into tears when Sirius had gotten his letter, knowing that Sirius wouldn't be around as much anymore. Sirius hadn't wanted to make his Reggie cry, but he wanted to go to Hogwarts. After all the stories his father and Uncle Alphard had told him, how could he not go? How could he give up the opportunity to drive the teachers insane and be better than all the other first years in his class?

Sirius snapped out of his thoughts as the compartment door slid open and a head got stuck around the door. The boy grinned at Sirius, "Mind if I sit here, it's a madhouse out there?"

Sirius thought about it, he didn't really want this boy sitting with him, but did he really want to spend seven hours by himself? The answer was no, "Sure."

The boy plopped himself onto the red seat and grinned again. How could he stand to smile so much, didn't it begin to hurt after awhile?

"I'm James Potter." said the boy, sticking his hand out.

"Sirius Black, charmed I'm sure." Sirius shook the hand slowly. The Potter's weren't so bad, pureblooded at the very most.

"Black, huh? Aren't we cousins or something?"

"Probably, but with all the in-breeding who isn't related?"

James laughed, "Good point. So what house do you…never mind."

Sirius smirked; he could see why James had stopped. It was obvious by now wasn't it? All Blacks were Slytherins; other houses just weren't done. Although, thought Sirius, it might be nice to be unique for a change.

"Well, I want to be a Gryffindor. My mum was one and my grandfather. I think it would be fascinating."

"Hmmm," Sirius gave a noncommittal answer, why did everyone feel the need to defend their choices to him. Their lives were their own; they could screw them up in whatever way made them happiest.

"So…do you have any siblings?"

"A brother. He'll be here next year." Sirius brightened at the thought of having his little brother closer to him. He didn't like the distance between them, how was Sirius supposed to take care of Reggie if he was in London and Sirius was in Scotland?

/page break/

Sirius stared at the red canopy in shock. He still couldn't believe it; him…a Gryffindor? It was impossible! It was obscene! He was Sirius Black for Merlin's sake! Blacks were _not_ placed in any house other than Slytherin. It just wasn't done.

Although, Sirius mused, maybe this was his chance! The chance to prove that he was the best Black to roam these ancient halls. Yes, that would do very nicely; he would simply be the best of them all. He would prove himself, no matter the personal cost. It wouldn't be so bad, he thought sleepily, after all James wasn't so bad. He had even pulled a prank with Sirius. Maybe he would want to friends on a more permanent basis? Sirius would have to cure James of the feeling bad thing, however. James had wanted to apologize to the tiny boy they had dumped pumpkin juice all over. Sirius had objected vehemently. One did not rank a person and then apologize! Even if said person was adorable. Especially if it looked as though they were going to cry. And furthermore, one did not apologize to a dorm mate.

Sirius fell asleep looking up at the red canopy, a smile planted firmly on his face. Yes, things would turn out nicely.

/page break/

The moment Sirius stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast he knew something was going to happen. The air was tense with excitement. But, it only came from the Slytherin table. What was going on, Sirius wondered as he sat next to James, who was still chattering.

Sirius nodded at the appropriate moments in James's monologue, but stared at the table across from him. He wanted to know what was going on the moment it started. He snapped his attention back to the plate in front of him as Narcissa sneered at him. Well, hell, he thought, who put Flobberworms in her breakfast?

The slight decrease in his attention caused him to look up in shock when cheers and hushed whispers swept through the hall. He looked around curiously when James's hand squeezed his arm tightly.

"What?"

James pointed to the owls that were now flocking throughout the hall. Sirius couldn't see anything wrong, what was James so freaked out about? Then he saw it. The bright red envelope clutched in Diemos's talons. The bird swooped down to where Sirius sat, dropped the envelope on the table, and took off once more. Sirius felt the color in his face fade like well-worn trousers. Now he knew what the Slytherins were so excited about. His mother had sent him a howler.

Sirius gently flicked the tab open and tried to tune out his mother's horrendous shrieks.

_**"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! HOW DARE YOU BRING SUCH SHAME UPON THE MOST ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH YOU! YOU ARE SUCH A DISGRACE!"**_

_**"YOUR GRANDPARENTS ARE ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIED! YOUR FATHER AND I… WE…I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO YOU ANYMORE! DON'T BOTHER COMING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! YOU'D JUST BETTER BE GLAD YOUR BROTHER IS ON THE RIGHT PATH AS THAT'S THE ONLY THING SAVING YOUR LOUSY ASS!" **_

Sirius glanced around the hall nervously; that had been worse than he had expected. The Slytherins were too busy laughing and the Hufflepuffs looked at him with sorrow filled eyes. The Ravenclaws had gone back to their studies now that the show was over. James looked as though he wanted to say something, but Sirius wouldn't let him. He got up, flung his pack over his shoulder and left for Transfiguration.

/page break/

Sirius picked irritably at the yellow feathers that still adorned his skin. Why would they not come off? This was exasperating! Sirius pulled one off of his wrist and sighed when it stuck to his finger. He shook his hand violently, grinning in satisfaction as the feather leapt off his hand…only to have the smile fall off when the abused feather landed on the tip of his nose. Sirius's eyes crossed as he glared at the offending feather. He huffed and stomped his foot. He gave a harsh shake and grinned again when it looked as though the feather was heading to Earth.

Sirius headed back into the dorm, humming happily. He flopped face down onto the bed; content to just lay there. He started sharply when a thinly boned hand ran itself through his hair. Remus jumped backwards as the piercing grey eyes stared at him in shock.

"Um, there was something in your hair." Remus opened his hand to reveal the battered yellow feather. Sirius stared at the thing, bemused he reached over to pick the feather up off of Remus's hand, ignoring the boy's stuttering.

"You're a lot cuter when you're quiet." Sirius muttered absent mindedly, twirling the feather between his fingers.

There was silence for a moment, then flurried footsteps and a closing door. Sirius glanced up in shock. He hadn't meant for Remus to leave! Funny though, Sirius told Reggie to be quiet and the boy did it without complaint. Remus was really very odd, even if he came up with pranks that stuck with you for weeks on end. It had been a month and Sirius was still finding feathers! He didn't know how Remus was doing it, Sirius showered like everyone else, so why was he still finding feathers?!

/page break/

Minerva McGonagall was no fool. In fact, she prided herself on being on of the more, ahem, competent professors. Therefore, when the stone beneath her feet began to tremble, she knew who had to be behind it. She rubbed her brow and muttered a small oath. She then moved towards the ground floor to deal with whatever mess Sirius Black had gotten himself into.

Imagine her shock when she found the culprit of said shaking was not Black, but Lupin…studious, sweet, shy little Remus Lupin. He was standing between an amazed Potter and a very proud looking Black.

Minerva McGonagall was no fool. So she knew exactly who to blame for this, "Sirius Black! How DARE you!"

Sirius spluttered incoherently about it not being his fault, but Minerva knew better.

"How dare you corrupt this poor boy with your tomfoolery!" she dragged Remus close to her, aiming to get him away from the bad examples before her. Remus's face began to flush, realizing that the professor thought that he had been corrupted.

"But professor, we didn't…it was his…"

"Do not 'but professor' me, Mr. Potter! You cannot mean to tell me that you had nothing to do with this!"

"Professor McGonagall, James is right. I came up with this by myself, they had nothing to do with it."

That night Sirius got to write home to his Uncle Alphard that he had experienced something no one else had. Alphard read the letter six times before he laughed and laughed. Who knew that a tiny little boy by the name of Remus Lupin had managed to capture the heart of a Black, simply by making Minerva McGonagall pass out from shock.

A/N: There! Sorry this took so long. My brain was fried! Hope you liked it. Remember, reviews make me happy!

I am so terribly sorry that this is so late! I realize I wrote this above but I'm doing it again. I am actually wincing as I type this because I burnt my index fingertip this afternoon and it is very painful. So I hope that you all really really liked it.


	3. Werewolves of London

Standard Disclaimer Applies. Werewolves of London rights belong to Duran Duran.

Evolving Padfoot: Werewolves of London

_I saw a werewolf drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's and his hair was perfect. _

Sirius was going to have to kill Remus when they met next. Because, really, all the excuses he gave about his mother being ill were just ridiculous. Sick every month, indeed. Helena Lupin was in fine spirits on this August afternoon if Sirius did say so. And he did. When his mother had plopped him down upon one of the benches lining the Alley, Sirius had had no idea that the sweet lady feeding him snickerdoodles was Remus's mother.

She had come and sat next to him not five minutes into his "punishment" wanting to know where his parents were. Because, she had said, no child should be left on a bench to squander away such a perfect afternoon, even if they were nearly thirteen. She had then proceeded to stuff him with the homemade biscuits she had in her large handbag. They were almost sinfully good and had Sirius been slightly suicidal he would have asked for the recipe.

Mrs. Lupin had mentioned casually that she had a son about his age and wondered if they had met at school. Of course, Sirius had no idea that she would have said Remus's name, although, now that he thought about it, they did look similar. It was the eyes and high cheekbones that gave them away.

Yes, Mrs. Lupin seemed in good spirits as she ragged on her husband, John, and bragged on her son. Remus was going to be dealt with swiftly and effectively for lying.

"So, I know why I was put here, but why aren't you with Remus?" Sirius asked, stuffing another biscuit into his mouth,

"Oh, well, Remus is at his aunt's actually. My ridiculous husband put me on this bench. Not to say I can blame him, really. The last time I was in London I nearly caused some sort of riot. A statute of secrecy or some sort of rubbish."

Sirius looked at the woman next to him in confusion as she carried on, "How was I supposed to know that mobbles knew nothing about wizards?"

"Mobbles, ma'am?"

"Yes, dear, mobbles. Or was it maggles? Miggles?"

"Muggles?"

"That's the one, dear! Goodness, I've not been much into the wizarding side of things, so it's no wonder I'm not getting things right. Muggles, honestly, what a mind-boggling word. Another biscuit, dear?"

Sirius took another, trying to bury the horror that was building inside of his stomach. How Remus always seemed to be perpetually worried around him, never truly spoke about his family, and, in the interest of keeping his things private, had a muggle lock on his trunk. Helena Lupin was a _muggle._ She was an honest to goodness muggle and Sirius was sitting right next to her! He hadn't shriveled up or burnt into a crisp yet, like his mother had said though, maybe he was jumping to conclusions? Yes, that was it!

"Mrs. Lupin? Are you…that is are you…um?"

"Muggle? Yes, I am. Poor Remus seems so ashamed of it. He didn't use to be, but apparently some of his little friends are in the high society around here and he seems to think that they might not like him as much if they found out about my non-magical self. Poor thing, I was so happy that he had made friends that I didn't have the heart to tell him off. You won't tell any of his friends, will you, dear? I should hate to be the cause of my baby's unhappiness."

Sirius shook his head numbly, wondering if he should tell the woman who he was exactly. He decided not to, but wondered why his body wasn't turning into a gelatos mass at Mrs. Lupin's muggle touch.

Then Sirius had an epiphany. Maybe his mother was wrong. Maybe muggles weren't all bad. Didn't some of the brightest students in Gryffindor come from muggle homes? Sirius grinned happily and picked yet another biscuit from the bag and listened happily as Mrs. Lupin prattled on about something called Monty Python, whatever the hell that was.

/page break/

"You did WHAT?!"

"I sat next to a muggle and didn't die. I thought you said I would." Sirius watched with growing satisfaction as Walburga puffed up like a toad in anger. While his mother being angry was _not _a reason to celebrate, the fact that he had proved her wrong was. Walburga Black prided herself on knowing anything worth knowing.

"You little brat! How dare you disobey me? I'm just thankful that your brother isn't as foolish as you!" And with that she cuffed Sirius around the head and marched out of the parlor.

Sirius sighed and rubbed his ear, it wasn't as if he were trying to disobey her, it just happened. He wondered what color his mother would turn if he were deliberately bad. Sirius felt a wicked smirk come across his face as he glanced at his mother's retreating form through narrowed eyes.

"That's suicidal, Russi."

"Uncle Alphard!" Sirius launched himself at his uncle. Alphard grinned and swung him up into the air, or he tried to at least.

"Ugh, you're too big for this anymore."

Sirius laughed and wrapped his arms around his favorite family member. It was nice to see him again. Sirius supposed mother had finally un-banned Alphard after four years. But his uncle had been stupid enough to "embarrass" the family quite publicly. Because kissing another man in the middle of the ministry was quite foolhardy, not to mention gross. It was all okay though, Sirius thought, if Alphard wanted to do weird things like kiss boys, shave all his hair off, and eat Blood Pops for breakfast. Alphard Black was still Sirius's hero.

/page break/

Sirius glared at the floor sullenly as Narcissa chattered on. Why was he letting her braid his hair, he didn't know, but it certainly didn't make her any quieter. She really needed to have her friends over. He was trying to get his astronomy homework done. Although the moon charts seemed a little familiar, but Sirius couldn't see why. Moon phases were typical second year material; maybe Andromeda had mentioned it in passing or something.

"Russ, guess what came?"

Sirius looked up as Regulus came sliding in the room, three Hogwarts letters clutched in his tiny fists.

"I got my letter! I got it!" Regulus bounced up and down waving the parchment around in the air. Sirius and Narcissa's eyes met followed by instantaneous giggling. Regulus had to be the most excited child to ever get his letter. He had even known it was coming, but he still managed to act silly.

"Can I have my letter before you tear it apart, please?" asked Narcissa, holding her hand out for the yellow envelope. She had to duck as Regulus threw it at her before plopping down in Sirius's lap.

Sirius winced as his not so little brother bounced up and down on a very sensitive part of his anatomy. The paper cuts from flying pieces of parchment was not too pleasant either. He placed his hands on his brother's slim waist and tried to keep him from moving.

"Can I open it?"

"Well, duh. How else will you find out what's in there? Honestly, you're such an idiot."

Sirius glared at Narcissa as Regulus's eyes filled with tears at their cousins harsh words. Nobody talked to his baby brother like that except for him!

"Go ahead Reggie, open it," He urged his brother, who still looked upset. Trembling fingers edged the envelope open and the familiar writing of Sirius's head of house came into sight.

Sirius smiled as Regulus's excitement slowly came back to him. He wondered if Regulus would be a Gryffindor like him; that would be real nice. That way Sirius could still protect him, because Regulus was still a baby, even if he was eleven.

/page break/

"Your friend is a werewolf." Sirius sighed and turned to look at Regulus.

"I know that."

"What do you think you're doing then? Why are you hanging out with him? Is he blackmailing you or something? I'll tell mother and she'll fix that monster real quick."

"Don't you dare call Remus that! And don't you dare tell mother!" Sirius roared, seizing Regulus by his Slytherin tie.

"But, Sirius…he'll eat you…"

"Remus would never do such a thing. You don't even know him. How could you even make such an accusation like that? He's my friend, don't you dare do anything to hurt him, you hear me?"

"Yes…"

"Good." Sirius dropped his brother and stalked down the hall. He didn't see Regulus's crushed expression, his slow tears, or hear the whispered phrase "He may be your friend, but I'm your brother."

Sirius was so intent on getting away from Regulus that he almost didn't move in time when a red and black shape came hurtling out of the darkness.

"Whoa, Evans, where's the fire?"

"Haha, Black, very witty. Tell your creepy friend Potter to stay away from me!"

Sirius watched as Lily Evans disappeared around the corner. He was very confused. What could James possibly want from a mudblood nerd like her?

/page break/

Sirius smiled and wrapped an arm around his delicate friend. For a minute there he had thought that Remus was going to have a nervous breakdown on him! He hadn't known that Remus would freak out about someone knowing he was a werewolf! It wasn't as if he were dangerous! But when everything had been straightened out Remus had calmed down enough to relax into the friendly arm that Sirius had slung around him. It was nice to take care of someone more fragile than him, thought Sirius, even if it wasn't Reggie.

It was true. He did miss his brother, but knew that things would be a little different from now on. Because as everyone knew Slytherins and Gryffindors did not mix; and they never would if peer pressure had anything to say about it. Sirius was just pleased that someone needed him; at least in a protective sort of way. Remus had no brothers or sisters to take care of him after the full moons.

"Don't worry, Remmie. I'll take care of you." Sirius whispered to his dozing friend. Remus mumbled something about salt-water taffy and pink elephants while digging himself deeper into Sirius's side.


	4. Antisocial Girl

Standard Disclaimer Applies. Antisocial Girl lyrics belong to Boy Kicks Girl.

I am so SORRY! This is so, so late! My laptop's hard drive died and everything was lost. And I do mean everything. Thank goodness I had already sent this chapter off to be betad! Much love!

Antisocial Girl

_Sitting on the stairwell you were eating lunch, blocking all the people. It's just your way of fun. __  
_

Antigone Mason was an odd sort of girl, with long black hair and the most piercing violet eyes you had ever seen. She was the sort of girl you would find on the cover of a magazine or on a stage. Her looks were adored and hated and she knew it. She had no qualms about throwing herself around to get what she wanted. Antigone Mason always got what she wanted. You wouldn't expect to find her down by the lake crying over a boy.

Sirius Black was the sort of boy that you would find on the cover of a magazine or on a Quidditch pitch. You might also find him lounging in his manor's library, pretending to read. You wouldn't expect to find him sitting by the lake looking morose. But here they were, Antigone on one side and Sirius on the other. Two people brought together by the things that others just didn't see.  
They were sitting side by side, yet said nothing to the other. The quiet was too comforting to break. Boy and girl sat in their own despair, caring naught for the world that turned around them. Sirius left first, leaving Antigone to dry her eyes and stare after the one boy who had always said no to her.

/page break/

Remus was worried about him again; Sirius could feel it. The thin line of his lips and the amber worry in his eyes said it all. Sirius wondered when Remus would dare call him on it. The first few weeks into the school semester had been quite tough, what with having to shower at odd hours and make sure that he never changed in front of his dorm mates. The scars and bruising would be too much for them to handle. Peter was lost in his own little world of food and comics and most certainly wouldn't understand. James was a pampered only child, he would never realize that not all parents are the best. Remus…well Remus would understand better than anyone. He would understand the self-hatred for not being able to control it and he would certainly understand the disgust for what was done.  
Sirius sighed and sat up, moving over to give Remus space to sit on his bed. Might as well get this over with. It wasn't as though Sirius couldn't trust Remus with the horrible secret, he just didn't know if he wanted to. It was so hard to open up to someone. Being thirteen and going to boarding school was the pits.

Sirius glanced at his friend who was fiddling with the frayed hem of his sleeves again. A sure sign that he was nervous or contemplating something. Sirius sighed, "Spit it out, Remus. What are you thinking about?"

"Um, nothing really." Remus twisted his fingers together for one brief moment and Sirius snorted.

"Bullshit."

"Sirius….must you be so crude?"

"Yeah, now what's your problem, you putz?"

Remus looked offended for a moment but calmed himself at Sirius's smile. Remus gave a huff and looked around the dorm, wishing he wasn't the only one who had noticed that something was wrong with Sirius. Of course, he was better equipped to see the signs of abuse than anyone else. Except for the Slytherins of course, but Remus didn't see Sirius going to talk to Severus about being abused.

"Is there anything you want to talk to be about?" They sat silently for a moment; Remus waiting for a reply that might not come and Sirius trying to work out what he was going to say.

"If you mean about my attitude then no, I have nothing to say. Now if you were asking about Quidditch then, sure…"

"I'm not talking about Quidditch, Sirius! I'm talking about you! About why you refuse to be seen unclothed for more than five seconds and why you keep getting these dazed looks when you think nobody is watching you!"

Sirius looked at the boy in front of him and for once saw that Remus wasn't the quiet, gentle boy that he played on a daily basis. Remus's chest was heaving with suppressed emotion, his dark topaz eyes glittered wildly, and his hair was standing on end. Sirius saw the wolf behind those eyes and he found that while he was startled, he wasn't _afraid_.

"Remus, can't you just be satisfied that I don't want to talk about it?"

"No, it isn't healthy to bottle everything up…"

"Oh, like you would know about sharing your feelings, Remus. You're a goddamned hypocrite if you think that you know what's best for me and my_ feelings_!"

"Get off your high horse Sirius and see what's in front of you!"

"Bugger off, Lupin! You don't know me!"

Remus's eyes widened and then lowered. When he spoke Sirius could hear the tremor, "You're right, I don't know you. But how could I when you don't volunteer information? How could I when all you do is speak to James unless you need help with homework? How could I know the real Sirius Black when all he does is brush me off?"

Sirius felt all the fight leave him in one loud whoosh, "Remus…I…"

"Don't, Sirius. Just don't. Come and find me when you're ready to talk, but not before then." Remus left the room, his shoes making no noise against the wood floor. Sirius didn't notice the tears right away, but when he did he brushed them away angrily, disgusted with himself.

/page break/

Jams Potter was worried, he hadn't seen or heard the fight but he knew one had occurred. There was no other reason for Sirius's dismal attitude and Remus's silent fury. Their problem made living very unpleasant and James was not going to stand for it much longer.

"Ugh! I can't stand those two anymore. I can taste the tension!" James grinned as Peter's forehead met the desk.

"I know what you mean, Pete."

"Why can't we just lock them in a cupboard and let them have at it?" Peter looked at his best friend when his suggestion was met with silence.

"Pete, that's brilliant! I knew you had it in you!"

"James, I was joking!" But his statement went unnoticed as James's planning face came on and all the Slytherins within ten feet scattered.

/page break/

"I say we string him up the Quidditch goals by his balls."

"No, how about we make him dress in drag for a week?"

"Too tame," Sirius frowned and tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but only ended up jabbing Remus in the ribs with his knee. A whispered sorry got rid of the dangerous glare.

"We really need to stop encouraging James to think."

"No kidding, he's a bloody danger to mankind."

"Well, there's that and he'll probably strain something."

"Ouch, Remus, I felt that." Sirius cringed.

"Good, maybe you'll stop being such a pigheaded berk then."

Sirius banged his head against the wall and was silent. He was quiet for so long that Remus felt the inexplicable need to ask, "Have you died over there?"

"Remus, how did your parents react when you got bitten?"

Remus gave Sirius a startled look before replying, "Well enough, I guess. They were worried about me, of course, but they were happy with the fact that I was alive. It took years for them to have me, you know."  
"They never yelled or anything like that?"

"Well, mum yelled because I wasn't supposed to be outside, but I think she was scared."

"Why me?"

"Why you what, Sirius?" Remus tilted his head. Sirius gave a gasping breath and began to tell Remus about his summer. Remus made horrified noises and gasped at all the right times and Sirius knew that choosing to tell Remus about his mother abusing him had been the right choice.

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell anyone before now?" Remus squeezed in next to Sirius, making the small closet space even more cramped, but Sirius didn't mind one bit.

"Who would I have told? James, Peter, McGonagall? Highly unlikely that they would be able to do anything for me."

"Then why did you tell me? At least Peter and James are purebloods! I'm barely even human!"

"You're more human than anyone don't let them tell you otherwise. Besides, you understand in a way that James and Peter couldn't. They have perfect lives and I wouldn't want to give them nightmares or anything." Sirius tightened his grip on the linen he had in his fist and glared at the ground. He couldn't believe that he was acting like such a baby. Crying all over himself, how ridiculous. But something about having Remus's arms about him made him feel safe in a way that he hadn't felt in a long time. It was nice.

Sirius rested his head against Remus's shoulder and sniffled, he wondered when James was going to let them come out of the closet.

/page break/

Sirius brushed his teeth furiously, watching in the mirror as his dorm mates stood in the doorframe.  
"Is there a reason as to why you came rampaging into the dorm at four in morning, looking like you were being chased by hellhounds?" James asked dryly. Remus folded his arms and tried to keep his eyelids from drooping. Peter was already asleep against the doorframe.

"I kissed her." The resulting reactions would have made a very amusing show. James's chin fell so fast that Sirius was sure he would be in pain in the morning; Remus's eyes snapped open and he tumbled against the doorframe; Peter fell to the floor in shock.

"You kissed a girl?!"

"Yeah…"

"Who?"

"The one girl I swore I would never touch. I'm so pathetic."

"Whom are you talking about?"  
"Antigone Mason." The resulting silence was so oppressive that Sirius went back to his mouthwash.

"Sirius?"

"Yes, Remus?"

"Why did you kiss her, when you don't even like her?"

"She was…she was saying that I was pathetic for never having kissed someone."

"Sirius, you're thirteen! No one expects you to be in that sort of stuff at thirteen."

"So? Now I've kissed her and she'll leave me alone. Let's go to bed, I'm exhausted." Sirius walked past the other three and climbed into his bed. He waited until he head Peter and James's snore before venturing over to Remus's four-poster.

"I didn't really want to do anything with her, Remus. She made me."

"I know, Siri. I know."

"Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Remus's eyes glowed as they looked at him. Sirius was about to go back to his own bed when Remus flipped back the covers for him.

A/N: Sorry that this is so late….Real Life beat me over the head with a very large stick and then held me hostage. I've just gotten out of negotiations and, hopefully, the next chapter will be out soon.

B/N: Yeah. And then your beta messed around making excuses about college and work and just general _life_ troubles. Sorry guys.


	5. Rule Breakers

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long. Things have been a little crazy. **This is in honor of having voted for the first time!**

Chapter 5: Rule Breakers

_"I just wanna color outside the lines, I've been reprimanded about a thousand times; I'm a rule breaker."_

Sirius waved cheerfully at Remus and Peter as he swooped about the Quidditch pitch. He had finally made the team! It was as grand as James had said it would be. For never being around brooms when he was younger, Sirius was surprisingly adept at flying. The hitting bludgers thing probably came from beating upon deserving Slytherins.

James flew past him, hitting the back of Sirius's head firmly. Sirius chased after the bespectacled boy, laughing the whole time. He finally managed to bean James across the face when they dived to avoid a goal post. It was in fact the very same post that Remus and Sirius had tied James to last year after the closet debacle.

Sirius turned back to check on Remus, he had to be watching because if he wasn't this punishment became void and 'Great Expectations' went out the window, literally. And Remus didn't want that, did he? The hastily shaken head had proven Sirius right.

When Sirius didn't spot Remus or Peter standing where they should have, he grabbed the back of James's shirt and nodded to the empty stands. James nodded back and they flew toward the ground.

Thirty-five minutes later had them trudging up to Gryffindor Tower, high from adrenalin. Beating up Slytherins always got his blood pumping. The only person not smiling was Remus, but as he had been the Slytherins' intended victim, the other boys understood his reluctance. But just because Remus had been victimized didn't mean…

"Sirius, you can't!"

Sirius dangled the thick novel out the window, fending Remus off with his left foot, "I can so."

" I was watching!"

"No, you weren't."

"The Slyths ganged up on me! What was I supposed to do? Ask them to wait until you had finished?"

Sirius thought for a moment, and then nodded, "Precisely."

Remus stared at him in bewilderment. Hi mouth hanging open and relaxed body did nothing to help fix the bug eyed look he wore. Sirius grimaced, "You know that expression makes you look like a fish and trust me that is _not_ a good look for you."

Remus's awareness, and anger, flooded back into his body at Sirius's words, "Give it back, you git! I'll go to McGonagall!"

"No, you won't."

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Because McGonagall said that if she saw any of us in her office for any reason before next Thursday, she would chop us into tiny bits, fry us up and feed the pieces to the Giant Squid. That's why you shouldn't."

"Sirius, please, it was my grandmothers." Remus reached a pale hand out toward the book, a pleading look on his face.

Sirius sighed and lowered his foot, letting Remus get closer. He knew how important Remus's things were to him. Familial possessions were even more precious to the young werewolf now that most of them were gone. Sirius brought the battered paperback back inside the window, slowly. He wrapped an arm around the other boy's neck and hugged him close, placing the book into the thin hands reaching for it.

"Sorry, Remmie."

"S'okay." Remus's words were muffled in Sirius's jumper. They stood for a moment, standing in the brief silence that had enfolded the dorm. Sirius ran his hand down Remus's spine once before stepping away. Remus gave him a blinding smile before turning to put his book away. Sirius got the feeling he had just been conned.

/page break/

Sirius sat on the edge of James's bed, tossing the boy's "Mini-Quaf!" up and down trying not to be annoyed at how much his best friend was rattling on about Evans. He didn't care about how green her eyes were of how red her hair was. He didn't care that she was currently at the top of their class or that she was so very kind.

His "Mini-Quaf!" went higher and higher as Sirius got more annoyed. The banging against the posts became louder and more violent. A hand reached out and seized the ball before Sirius could pitch it at James's head. He glanced up at Remus's grinning face and growled. What he didn't expect was the answering growl that Remus gave him.

"You listening, Sirius?" Sirius turned his startled expression on James.

"Not really, Jamie."

"Ugh, stop calling me that and why not?"

"I'm tired, it's almost three in the morning and you've been jabbering on about Evans since dinner. Give it a rest." Sirius opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off with a pillow to his face.

"What the hell?"

"Take that, you git! How dare you doubt the perfection of my Lily flower?" Another thwack to Sirius's noggin made him see stars.

"I'll doubt it all I'd like, you pinheaded berk! Take that and that!" Sirius landed a barrage of perfect hits against James, glad he and Regulus had practiced so much when they were little.

"Aren't you two a little old for pillow fights?" Remus rested against the bed frame, twirling the "Mini-Quaf!" around his fingers. Sirius glanced at James for a moment; communicating silently as they were wont to do, and turned unanimously, beating Remus across the head. A startled gasp was all that gave the two giggling boys warning before their pillows soared out of their hands.

James stared at his pillow for a moment, before giving Sirius a worried look, "I do think we're in trouble, dear Sirius."

"I do believe you're correct, darling James." They turned slowly towards their sweet and kind werewolf, cringing at the devious look and raised wand that greeted them.

Sirius was knocked to the floor in shock as James's Puddlemere United pillow brutally attacked him. It appeared that Sirius's own pillow, lovingly decorated with the Falmouth Falcons, was beating James into submission on the other side of the bed. Another whispered spell had the boys laughing hysterically; Remus could be very sadistic when he wanted to be.

Sirius managed to climb to his feet and stagger towards Remus. The pillow was soon joined by two others: one a school issued pillow and the other covered in Pumpkin Pasties. He was getting too close to Remus and the other boy was clearly getting nervous as he retreated to the other side of the room. The tickling charm increased in intensity and he fell to his knees. Sirius struggled to his feet and ran into Remus's bedpost.

Remus was now backed into the proverbial corner; he was scrunched up between his bed and nightstand, laughing hard enough to cry, with Sirius at his front. Remus twitched his wand and Mr. Whiskers, Peter's stuffed rabbit, thwacked Sirius in the side of the head.

"Hey! Remus, give him back!" Peter leapt off his bed and snatched Mr. Whiskers off of Sirius's chest.

While Remus was busy defending himself against Peter, Sirius seized his chance. With a gasping war cry, he threw himself upon Remus, managed to knock the wand away, therefore undoing the spells that had been set upon him. Sirius tickled Remus's side mercilessly, not heeding the commotion James and Peter were making behind him. He made Remus laugh and laugh, turning his eyes a stunning topaz.

/page break/

It probably wasn't the best idea to pour honey on Mrs. Norris, but on the plus side Filch did get in some exercise. Then again, thought Sirius as he was pulled along by the ear, perhaps he should have waited until after his "probation" from McGonagall ended to stick the cat to the ceiling.

"I have never been more ashamed of a student until now, Mr. Black. This kind of behavior is utterly unacceptable! What possessed you to do something like this?"

"Peeves?" Sirius ventured.

McGonagall froze for a moment, seemingly contemplating the idea, before shaking her head and dragging him forward.

Remus was not a happy werewolf when Sirius told him, although James and Peter thought it was wicked cool. Of course, Remus was far more sensitive to animals because of his wolf side, whether said animals liked him or not.

"Sirius, what made you think that gluing Mrs. Norris to the Great Hall's ceiling was a good idea? And don't you dare say Peeves!"

Sirius closed his mouth and grinned sheepishly.

"Who cares, Remus? That was freaking great! People will be talking about that for years to come!" James wrapped his arm around Sirius's neck, bringing him into a noogie.

Geroff me you great wanker!" The two boys fell to the ground laughing helplessly.

/page break/

Sirius smiled sleepily and snuggled down into his pillows, James's back pressed up against his own. He wondered what everyone would say if they found out James was scared of thunderstorms. But Sirius supposed that getting stuck in a tree during the worst electrical storm in over three centuries would do that to a person. It was funny how three out of four Marauders had some sort of traumatic event during their very young lives. He just hoped that this wasn't setting some sort of precedence for the future.

It was surprising that Peter didn't seem to hold the same terror the others did, although Sirius was positive that his jumpiness came from somewhere. Peter was near silent, fat, and had next to no sense of humor, how in the world had he become part of their group? James said that he was a good manipulator; Remus thought that he must have some brain somewhere, but Sirius just thought he was a rat.

James tapped his shoulder and mumbled a drowsy, "Stop thinking and go to sleep. Got Slughorn first thing."

"Hate that man." Sirius grumbled back.

"Yeah, keeps looking at Lily wrong." Sirius rolled his eyes and groaned. Even when he was near sleep James found time to talk about Evans. How tragically pathetic.

A/N: And there you go. Sorry that it's kind of short, it's mostly a filler because I left my brain somewhere.


	6. Closer to Perfection

A/N: Here's the next one. I own nothing as always. The song quote is from A*Teens "Closer to Perfection". **This is being posted in honor of having seen Robert Pattinson in Dallas! He's better in person!**

Chapter Six: Closer to Perfection

_"I stand in the light of faith, I thank you in so many ways."_

Sirius felt the change shift through him slowly. It was a bit like having someone dribble warm water down the back of your neck. He could hear James and Peter laughing behind him and he hoped to Merlin that he wasn't stuck halfway or was some sort of amphibian.

"You're such a dog, Sirius!" Sirius turned to glare at James, but the look only seemed to make them laugh harder.

"No, really, you're a dog. Looks like some sort of Newfoundland." Peter managed to stammer out before dropping to the floor of the Changeling Room.

Sirius twisted back around as a mirror materialized behind him. He admired his shiny new coat and long, lean body. He made a rather lovely canine, if he did say so himself. The only problem was his eyes. They remained the same grey color and it was a shame, because it made him recognizable to anyone who knew him well.

Sirius focused on getting his own body back and felt cold water instead of warm. He looked down at himself, counted his fingers and toes, nodded, and then sneered at the two laughing boys.

"Fine, you do it if you're so wonderful. Let's see what you end up with."

James straightened up and focused on his body bending and molding into his animagus form. Several moments later a large deer stood where his best friend had been. Sirius snorted with laughter. James was a goddamn deer! Only it had really big antlers, maybe it was closer to a moose.

"Yeah, James like being Bambi is much better." Sirius rolled his eyes at the large beast, which stumbled over to him. Sirius regretted not standing up before making his comment. Having a large stag hanging over your head wasn't all that enjoyable.

"How do you know who Bambi is, Sirius? It's a muggle movie." Peter asked. Sirius rolled his eyes in frustration; Peter was so annoying sometimes.

"Bambi Wilkes has a rather frightening obsession with her namesake."

James's laughter filled the room; Sirius jumped, not realizing that the boy had changed back.

"You know, we need nicknames. Peter is Wormtail as decided when he sneezed and changed into his rat form. But we need a nickname for the other, right?"

Peter nodded frantically, trying to get over the embarrassment of only managing the change because of magical influenza. Sirius pondered the antlers for a moment.

"Padfoot is yours, Sirius. Since you have pads on your feet, makes sense, right?" James grinned and Sirius gave a shrug, if could have been worse. They could have named him Blackie or something equally as ridiculous.

"You should be Prongs, James." The two black haired boys stared in bewilderment at Wormtail.

"What kind of name is that?"

"No, no, Sirius, it kind of makes sense. My antlers look a little like giant forks. I like it."

"You do?" Sirius and Peter looked at each other and back at James.

James shrugged at the dual question, "Yeah, it's not like anyone was coming up with a better idea."

Sirius gave one last shrug and transformed back into the newly christened Padfoot, already more comfortable in that form. He didn't want to deal with the human emotions that came with James betraying him.

/page break/

Sirius looked down at the body in his arms. The rips and sores were horrendous, but the worst seemed to be a large gash on the side of his head.

"Poor Remus."

"Yeah, what did he do to deserve this?"

"Don't know, Padfoot, what does anybody do to deserve anything?"

Sirius lay on the cold floor next to Remus's battered body. He saw James sink, boneless, to the floor on the other side of Remus and let himself relax. Staying awake all night, fending off a playful werewolf, really took it out of a person.

He was woken by a drip of water splashing onto his cheek. Remus was awake and crying.

"Remmie, what's wrong?" He brushed a tear off Remus's cheek.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you do something like this?"

"Because we're your friends." James mumbled.

"Yeah." Remus's chin wobbled and Sirius hugged him tightly.

/page break/

"Sirius, are you paying attention to me?"

Remus snapped his fingers in front of the bemused face.

"Remmie, you do realize that you are a very bad liar, correct?"

"I…what?" Sirius laughed at the completely dumbfounded expression on his friends face.

"I know you were nominated as a distraction for my surprise party."

"I don't know what you mean." Sirius marveled at the way Remus's cheeks tinged pink.

"Come on, Remmie. You can't distract or lie worth a damn. I don't know what James was thinking when he picked you. But that's okay, I'm enjoying our walk." Sirius slung his arm around Remus's shoulders.

"Thank you, Pads."

"Do you suppose we should keep walking or go back and surprise them?"

"Aw, they've worked hard, let's let them 'surprise' you."

"Alright."

They spent the next hour and a half walking around the entire lake. They made small talk for a while, but soon fell into a very comfortable silence.

Sirius soon noticed Remus shivering and pulled his scarf off, wrapping it around his friend. Remus protested but Sirius shrugged off his pleas. The full moon was only a week away and Remus didn't need to be sick during the transformation.

Sirius also knew that Remus needed new outerwear; his scarf was missing, his gloves had holes, and his cloak was so threadbare in places it looked like mesh. He knew that Remus's family couldn't afford new things, but he knew that Remus would never accept them from him. So he did what he could for his little friend, trying to keep him from being cold.

"Should we head back to the castle now, they should've finished preparing by now." Remus asked, burrowing into Sirius's still warm scarf.

"Yeah and if they're not then the surprise will be on them!"

"Don't sound so gleeful, you wretched brat." Remus laughed. Sirius punched the thin shoulder in front of him in retaliation. Remus laughed again and took off for the castle with Sirius hot on his heels.

Remus had to slow down when he reached the sixth flight of stairs and groaned when Sirius appeared behind him.

Sirius managed to wrap Remus in a gigantic bear hug and force him to the ground. They giggled helplessly for a moment before resuming their return to Gryffindor at a more sedate pace.

/page break/

Sirius paused, he could see why James was so enamored with Evans, she was evil. Poor Remus, he thought, whatever will he choose?

Seeing those exotic gold eyes resting on him, Sirius raised an eyebrow as if to say 'I dare you'. It wasn't as if he wanted Remus to suffer, but it was amusing to see the straight-laced boy come undone.

In a way it made sense for Remus to choose him. Peter was far too prudish and was, quite plainly, squeamish about any form of homosexuality. James was very in "love" with Evans and didn't want anything to screw that up, not even a prank kiss. It was plain to see however, that Remus was only comfortable to a certain point. He had started to move forward, but had stopped two inches away, as if he were unsure.

Sirius leant forward and pressed his lips against Remus's slightly chapped ones. It was rather nice, he decided. Remus kissed rather well. He didn't know if it was because of Evander Bradshaw or natural ability, but he also didn't really care as long as it didn't stop. Remus pulling away brought Sirius back to reality with an Earth shattering halt. This was his best friend! Remus was practically his little brother! Wanting to kiss him was bloody ridiculous, wasn't it?

As Remus left the room, Sirius's mind ran in circles. What was wrong with him? Why had he let Remus kiss him in the first place? Never mind the fact that Sirius had done the actual kissing of the two, Remus was a natural submissive. Wait, Sirius thought, why was he even thinking about things like that? It wouldn't happen again so things like who was submissive didn't matter, right?

/page break/

Sirius slouched down next to the exhausted werewolf; the transformation had been very taxing this time. The cold weather had finally gotten to Remus; he had been in the infirmary for the last week with a terrible cold. Madame Pomphrey had been worried that it would turn into magical influenza, especially since Peter had just gotten over it.

He grabbed one of the blankets off the bed and pulled it over them. It was really too bad that James and Peter couldn't be there, but Peter had a date (Bullshit, Sirius's brain supplied helpfully) and James had caught Dragon Pox and was currently in isolation. A violent shudder shook his body and he pressed closer to Remus. One good thing about being a werewolf was having a warmer body temperature. Remus always joked that he was better than a hot water bottle.

Remus whimpered and rolled toward him, opening pained eyes. There weren't too many cuts on his body, but Sirius was sure that Remus had some pretty nasty bruises. The most worrying part was that Remus had a very low body temperature.

"Siri, I'm cold."

"I know, Remmie. It snowed last night. Don't worry, the matron will be here soon." Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus. It took a lot to get the boy cold and Sirius wasn't_ that_ cold.

"Sirius, you need to go, I can smell her perfume."

"I'm not leaving you." Remus groaned slightly and rested his head on Sirius's chest. Sirius wasn't convinced this was a good thing, but didn't argue.

/page break/

Madame Pomphrey was not amused. She was not at all pleased to find Sirius there, but she didn't seem to realize that he had been there all night. It turned out, however, that Remus had some very intense internal bleeding. Any longer and he might have died Sirius wasn't terribly surprised; he had had to direct Moony away from Hogsmeade rather forcefully last night. It was, however, frightening to think that he had been so close to losing Remus. It put a few things in perspective and his conclusion that he was attracted to Remus in some way was solidified.

Sirius kept waiting to be called to Dumbledore's office. He wasn't sure if Pomphrey had told on him or not, but as time passed he realized that, for whatever reason, she hadn't said anything.

It was nice to know that someone cared enough about Remus to let him have a friend be with him. This advancement was quite clear in Remus; he was more vibrant and happy. It made James and Sirius happy to see Remus so joyful.

Sirius was, however, concerned about the budding crush he had on Remus. He was worried that someone would find out about it and use it against him. His mother would not be amused to find out that her eldest son had homosexual tendencies, especially since said crush was on a half-blood werewolf. Things would not go well for him if the Black family ever found out. But it was so hard to hide it. Every little thing Remus did seemed to affect him. Every little smile or twinkle in his eye. Even watching Remus read made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Oh hell, he thought, I'm so screwed.

A/N: There! How's that for a lovely little present. Enjoy!


	7. Damaged

A/N: On we go. I do not own Harry Potter or the quote (which is owned by Danity Kane). I also don't own anything you recognize from this chapter or the last few, since I may have forgotten to mention that.

This is currently unbetad, however, I felt like posting a chapter for Christmas.

MERRY CHIRSTMAS!!!!!!!!

Chapter Seven: Damaged

_You try to gain your trust, talking is not enough; Action speak louder than words, You gotta show me something, my heart is missing some pieces. _

Sirius touched his bloody lip again, wining as his fingers glided wetly across the torn skin. His face hurt quite a bit; Snape knew how to hit. He often wondered who had taught the other boy how to beat up on someone so spectacularly; the entire practice was very muggle. Everyone knew purebloods went into Slytherin, so seeing one that knew how to fist fight like a muggle was a tad startling.

He flinched away as Remus slapped a cloth soaked in alcohol across his lower lip, "The fuck, Remus?! That hurts!"

"Yeah, you're bloody merciless, Moony. So mean to us poor sods." James leant against Sirius's back, trying not to cringe every time the mesh across his forehead dripped into the gash on his brow.

"I'm a hell of a lot nicer than Madame Pomphrey would be right now. And you'd better not forget that."

The two injured boys nodded frantically, hoping that Remus wouldn't put any more alcohol on them. They glanced at each other and then back to Remus, who was puttering around the dorm, growling angrily. They weren't quite sure what his problem was; it wasn't as if fighting with Snape was _new_. Remus seemed much more agitated lately. And since Moony was a growler it was quite worrying.

"What crawled up his ass and died, do you think?" muttered James, trying not to lean too heavily on his side. Stone banisters were not a good thing to get thrown in to.

"Dunno, but I wish it would go away. He's no fun like this." Sirius knew the moment Remus heard him, the straight back went even straighter. Sirius mumbled a quiet 'oops' and waited for the lecture. James hid behind him, knowing the following carnage wouldn't be pretty. The slamming of the door came as a big surprise and both boys stared in shock at the closed door.

"What the hell?!"

James hit Sirius upside the head, frowning at the boy, "What'd you have to go and say that for? You know he's been rather sensitive lately."

Sirius rubbed the newly formed knot, "It wasn't that bad. Honestly, Remus has more PMS than Narcissa."

James raised an eyebrow, "At least your cousin isn't likely to eat you at the next full moon."

"That, my friend, is what you think."

/page break/

"What's the matter, Remmi?"" Sirius crouched next to Remus. A mumbled "nothing" answered him.

"That's not true, Remmi, I know it's not. Come on, tell Padfoot what's wrong."

Remus sighed and unfolded his body from the fetal position he had curled into. Sirius brushed a lock of caramel colored hair behind the slightly pointed ear. He blushed as Remus gave him an odd look.

"It's nothing, Siri."

"Give me a break, Remus."

"Fine. I'm worried."

"About what?"

"You don't want to know, Sirius. Trust me, just leave it alone."

"No. What are you worried about?"

"Severus."

Sirius froze, "Why?"

"Why do you care? You don't like him."

"That's true, I don't. But I care about you."

Remus smiled up at Sirius, tucking one of his hands into Sirius's larger ones.

"Thank you, Siri."

"You're welcome. Now tell me what's got you so worried about Snivellus for."

"He seems so unhappy. You and James are constantly fighting with him, sure, but I don't think he has any real friends at all."

"The Slytherins…."

"Hate him as well. There's some odd reason for it, but, apparently, they don't much like him. The only Slytherin who liked him at all was Lucius Malfoy. I just don't think that him being so alone is a good idea."

Sirius nodded slowly and Remus went on, "With Voldemort gaining so much power, he's going to try to recruit the talented loner's with a grudge. And no matter what you think, Severus is very talented. Plus, he seems to be even more of a loner. Lily caught him looking up Dark curses the other day. "

"So you think that Snape's going to become a Death Eater because James and I pick on him?" Sirius asked slowly, not sure if he was understanding this right.

"Not totally, but yes, I do think that's part of the problem."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Be a little nicer to him, maybe?"

Sirius groaned at the earnest expression on Remus's face. He really wanted James and Sirius to be nicer to Snape. Sirius nodded slowly, "Alright, but I don't think this is going to work."

"I know, Sirius, thank you for trying though." Sirius hugged Remus and sighed, what was he getting himself into?

/page break/

"Look, I'm trying to apologize! What is your problem?"

"My problem, Black, is that you are obviously insincere and are probably only doing this because Lupin batted his big eyes at you!"

Sirius sat stunned for a moment, "Look, Snape, you're right, but for some reason Remus is worried about you. I'm just trying to make him happy."

"You can tell you little whore to keep his nose out of other people's business!"

Sirius stared at Snape, his knuckles bloody once more. He had promised Remus that he wouldn't fight, but he wasn't going to stand around and let Snape bad mouth Remus. He faintly heard footsteps coming towards him, but Sirius kept hitting the face below him.

He head McGonagall's voice telling him to stop and felt meaty hands pull him off of the other boy. As he looked into the faces of Slughorn, McGonagall, and Dumbledore he knew he was in for it.

And he was, Sirius got to spend the next three weeks helping Filch every night. He had to scrape rust off ironwork, clean windows, oil doorframes, and all manners of other disgusting things. Remus was not please with him either, but at least he curbed his anger long enough to scrape Sirius up off the floor each night. James, of course, thought it was bloody brilliant that he had broken Snape' nose in six places, shattered a cheekbone, and dislocated his jaw. Peter said nothing, but that wasn't surprising. Peter and Sirius had never really liked each other that much. Sirius only spoke to him because of Remus.

The only issue Sirius had with his punishment was that he was going to miss a full moon. He hadn't missed a full moon during the school year, not since they became and Animagi! On the good side, James and Peter would both be there. Now he only had to figure out how to get the surly suit of armor on the sixth floor to hold still while he polished it.

/page break/

Sirius stormed toward the dungeons, heading to the Slytherin dorms. He didn't want to think that Snape had a death wish, but the note telling him to be at the dorm entrance at nine p.m. proved otherwise. But he was going to show up and see what the greasy bastard wanted.

He turned the corner and encountered The Git himself, "Snape. What the hell do you want? I was busy."

"Trust me, Black, you want to hear this."

"So talk." Sirius folded his arms and frowned. Snape stood straight and seemed to steel himself before speaking.

"You need to watch out for Regulus. He's heading down a path you'd rather he not take."

"Fuck off, Snape! You don't know anything about my brother."

"Neither do you." The dry tone served to make Sirius even madder, but what Snape said was true. He didn't know Regulus anymore.

"What do you…"

"Shut up and listen! Get him out of that house. Your cousins are going to destroy him. They're planning on getting him Marked him this summer."

Sirius had a brief moment of clarity, "You're a fucking Death Eater, aren't you?"

"I….."

"_Aren't you_?!"

"I…not yet."

"But you're planning on it."

"Yes…" Snape answered slowly, "And your brother is considering it as well."

"Stop it. My brother isn't like you."

"Isn't he? Well, I suppose not, you don't actually hit Regulus. Then again the verbal abuse seems to be quite the same."

"Shut up!" Sirius grabbed Snape by the front of his robes.

"Going to smack Regulus around the next time he does something you don't like?" Snape laughed.

"No! I would never hurt him."

"Too late, Black. You hurt him the moment you turned your back on him in his first year."

"I would never hit him."

"Not yet, but you don't really censor yourself, do you? I'm surprised you haven't beaten up on Pettigrew yet."

"They're my friends."

"Please, don't you notice how Lupin flinches around you when you're mad? Or how Pettigrew leaves the room? Potter's the only one who isn't afraid of you, but that's because you two are the same."

"Remus isn't scared of me."

"But you don't deny that Pettigrew is? Interesting. And trust me, I knew Remus before you if you've forgotten, he's scared to death of you. You can't help yourself. You're just a big brute."

Sirius shook him, "Shut the hell up."

"I wonder what you do to keep Lupin tame. The way you go on I wouldn't be surprised if….no, that couldn't be right."

"I'm leaving." Sirius dropped Snape to the floor and turned to leave, Remus was already disappointed in him. Sirius didn't want to make it worse by fighting.

"Get your brother out of that house, Black. You're going to lose him. But that's alright, you'll just go and cry to Lupin and he'll whore himself out to you so that you feel better."

Sirius whipped around and opened his mouth, not thinking about what he was going to say, but already regretting it.

/page break/

He sighed and banged his head against the metal goalpost. He wished he could hit the stupid thing harder, but spells prevented him from bashing his brains out. It was quite sad, really. Although, he didn't really deserve such a mercy, did he? Not after what he did to Remus. He was a horrible friend. A good friend would send another person to be offed. A good friend certainly wouldn't tell a rival a secret about another friend. No matter if said rival was an ass wipe.

Which is exactly what he had done when he had opened his mouth to tell Snape where to go on a full moon. He had knowingly placed Snape, and Remus, in very grave danger. Worse, he had practically ruined Remus's life. That was worse than any physical injuries.

Poor Remus, Sirius thought later, as he scrubbed pitifully at the stone. He had really screwed up this time. It was no wonder people weren't talking to him. Even his unofficial fan club, the Girls Love Sirius Black, was now the Girls for Remus Lupin Association! Not that Sirius didn't think that Remus deserved a fan club, because he really did, it was just a bad method of getting it.

Sirius sighed again as he crawled into his lonely bed; he was such a jack ass.

/page break/

He stared at the mound of paper and mountains of books that were piled in front of him. He was never going to get through this, especially since he had two separate detentions that night. Maybe he should just give up. It wasn't like he had anything left to lose. He had no friends, no family, no Quidditch, plus his grades were already in the toilet. What did it matter if he finished? Hell, maybe he should skip detention as well. Nothing mattered anymore.

Sirius slumped against the library desk and tried not to cry at the hopelessness of it all. He faintly heard footsteps come up behind him, but paid no attention, they couldn't possibly want to talk to him.

He flinched when warm, long fingered hands rested on his shoulder. He knew those hands, how could he not? Those hands belonged to the center of his universe.

"Sirius."

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Sirius marveled at how fast people seemed to get over the fact that they had been shunning him. Girls were greeting him in the halls, guys were grinning and slapping his back, and teachers weren't assigning him excess amounts of homework or detentions; it was nice to have a little normality.

James had taken him back into brotherhood after much consideration, but it was still very tense. Peter was Peter and it seemed like nothing phased him. Remus had fully forgiven him, nobody had gotten hurt he had said. Sirius didn't believe he deserved such forgiveness, but didn't say so out loud.

He had begun to eat again at Remus's demand. The werewolf said that Sirius was skinnier than he was. James said that _nobody_ was skinnier than Remus. Sirius truly hadn't realized that he had been that thin.

It had amazed him that Remus seemed to care so much about him. If he didn't eat, Remus took him to the kitchens. If he didn't shower for a while, Remus locked him in the loo. Remus had also take the time to cut his hair, since Sirius had let it grow so long that he could practically sit on it. Remus had sat him in a chair and painstakingly cut his long hair back to the exact length that Sirius adored; just below his ears so that a little curl showed.

He knew he didn't deserve half of what Remus continually did for him, but didn't know what to do about it. Remus wouldn't listen to his protests. James had said something about making it up to the lycanthrope, but Sirius hadn't the foggiest as to where to start.

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"A first edition Brother's Grimm Fairytales! Sirius where did you get this?" Remus turned the fragile book over and over in his hands, studying every little detail.

"My Uncle Alphard's partner is a literature freak, too. He said there's a great vintage bookshop off of Lower St. John street."

"Literature freak?" Remus asked with a smile.

"My Uncle's words, not mine." Sirius grinned back.

"The store's in London though?"

"Yeah. It's called Bernard Quaritch, established in 1847, I think."

"Wow. Thank you, Sirius." Sirius blushed as Remus's big gold eyes blinked up at him with unshed tears.

"Those had better be happy tears." Remus and Sirius turned to where James stood in the doorway, frowning.

"Yeah, Prongs, they're happy tears. Look, Sirius bought me a book." Remus wandered over to the other boy, yammering on about how great it was.

James met Sirius's eyes over the shorter boys head and smiled. Sirius gave a shit eating grin back and thought that things were finally getting back to normal.

A/N: There you have it. * throws confetti *


	8. Runaway From Love

Disclaimer: I don't own it. I don't own it. I don't own anything. Except for the odd thing you don't recognize, even then I may not own it. Song belongs to Cascada.

**Warning! This chapter has some very different views and inferences, such as drug use. If you get squicked easily then you might want to skip a few parts. The first quarter is the only odd part. Thank you!**

**Sorry this has taken so long! Working for Disney takes a lot of your time up! Currently un-betad, so please ignore the mistakes!**

Chapter 8: Runaway (From Love)

_"I know you don't want to be a bother; Though your love's so undiscovered; I want you to stay boy, stop running away from love."_

Sirius slouched next to Snape, not happy with the seating arrangement, but willing to overlook it in such circumstances. Regulus was on his other side and the three of them formed a wall, hoping to protect themselves from the others present.

How he had gotten invited to this Slytherin alumni gathering was beyond him, but he knew that this couldn't possibly end well. He also knew that as the youngest of the group he and the boys next to him could end up as target practice. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, but with Bellatrix and Walden MacNair in the room, that could change quickly.

Sirius glanced at Snape, wondering what his take on this situation was, but the teen was busy starring at Lucius Malfoy's hand, which rested on Narcissa's barely rounded stomach. The witch had announced her pregnancy not two days before, even though most already knew. Why Snape was staring confused Sirius, but he didn't think too much of it, instead choosing to poke his brother and raising an eyebrow in question.

Regulus gave a small shrug and turned back to where Bellatrix was welcoming them all. Sirius tuned her out and focused on the small piece of parchment in his pocket. It was a letter from Remus, telling him how the last full moon had gone and a promise to meet up soon.

He was brought back to reality when a decorated pot filled with powder was pressed into his hands. Sirius looked around before taking a very small pinch of the powder before passing it to Snape. He watched the others reaction, knowing that if anyone might know what it was it would be Snape.

All he got was a confused shake of the head. Sirius pushed the fine white powder around his hand and took a quick glance around once more. It seemed that most of the powder was disappearing into mouths and up noses. However, there seemed to be no ill effects; Narcissa was happily swallowing a mouthful herself.

The three boys on the floor shrugged at each other and poured their handfuls into their mouths, Sirius grimaced, it tasted like nothing but felt like chalk. As it trickled down his throat he grabbed the closest glass to him and took a swallow, trying to get the dry feeling out of his mouth.

Firewhisky, however, did not help the gross feeling in his mouth and throat to go away. It did seem to be popular in the room though. Everyone seemed to be sipping Firewhiskey and a very expensive Elfin wine. Sirius hoped to Merlin that his father found out that they were drinking his very old, very expensive wine and had an aneurism. That would make his summer worth it.

Regulus started giggling softly and fell into Sirius's lap. He looked to see what was so funny to his brother, but found nothing out of the norm. There actually seemed to be a lot of laughing in the room, which was odd for this group of people in particular. Sirius wished he knew what the joke was; all he felt was nauseous. He didn't think the whiskey was agreeing with his stomach.

Although, now that Marcus Crabbe was trying to stand on his head, things were starting to get amusing. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bore.

/page break/

Flashes of color flew around him. Was he flying? A flash of caramel colored hair. What was Remus doing here? Remus hated flying with a passion; apparently wolves didn't like heights. More swirling colors and a warm body up against his. Another face, his own. What the hell? It sure looked like him; a mirror! He must be looking into a mirror! He placed a hand against the mirror and gasped, it felt alive! How extraordinary! He felt very warm, what was the matter with him? It was too hot, way too hot! A shirt went flying across the room. More giggles. Darkness. Infinite darkness.

/page break/

Sirius groaned and slapped a hand across his eyes, wondering how the Hogwarts Express came to run him over. He paused, why were there bodies next to him? Naked bodies at that. He vaguely remembered a shirt flying off, but not much more than that. He didn't even remember how he got from the parlor up to the guest bedroom he seemed to be in.

He sighed and drug his hands from his eyes, not wanting to look around him, but desperately wanting a shower. He sat up slowly, gazing in horror at who lay around him. On his left was a still sleeping Regulus and on his right was Snape, who lay staring at the velvet drapes.

"What the hell happened?"

"I have no idea, Black, but whatever you do, don't look any further than your feet."

"Why?" Sirius closed his eyes slowly.

"It brings up some nasty questions about last night."

Sirius paused, opened his eyes and looked past the end of the four-poster. The sleeping bodies of twelve other Slytherin alumni lay around the room; most were undressed.

"Told you." Snape sneered at him. Sirius groaned and flopped down onto the pillows.

"Where are our clothes?"

"No idea."

"Wonderful."

"Stop talking so damn loud." Regulus rolled over and curled into Sirius's side.

"Regulus, this is not the most comfortable position for me."

"Oh, stop being a baby, Russi."

"Russi?" Snape snorted.

Regulus shot up from his horizontal position. He stared around the room in shock, before trying to stumble from the room. He crumbled to the ground, shouting in pain before he got two steps away. Sirius grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around his waist, climbing off the bed to help Regulus up.

"What hurts Reg?"

"Nothing, my foot fell asleep." Regulus was bright red and Sirius was pretty sure it wasn't because of the nickname.

"Come on, Reg. What's wrong?"

"I'm okay, just stiff. Leave it alone, Sirius." Regulus tried to pull away from Sirius's arms.

"I'd leave it if I were you. He obviously doesn't want to say-." Snape was cut off as Lucius burst into the room.

"Severus, let's go. The Blacks are back and they aren't amused." The older man threw Snape's clothes at him before leaving the room.

The two brothers looked at each other with growing horror as Snape pulled on clothes and fled. They were so dead and it wasn't even their party!

/page break/

The other Slytherins were quickly shooed out of the house before the carnage started. Sirius was only slightly worried about what was going to happen to him, but Regulus seemed quite spastic. It was all rather strange.

Sirius soon learned why Regulus was panicking; both boys had been beaten until they were black and blue. Sirius had to focus on the floor so that he could get to his room in one piece. It felt like his body was about to fall apart.

As he thought about what had occurred the night before things began to come back to him. Things that he really didn't want to remember. Sirius cringed as the memory of him losing his virginity was brought to the front of his mind. He hadn't wanted to lose it this soon and certainly not to his cousin in law, Rabastian LeStrange.

He stood and went over to his trunk, removing a "memory retrieval" potion. It was a bit like a reverse Veritaserum and was slightly illegal. Sirius thanked Merlin that Slughorn hadn't noticed when Sirius had removed it from him. He downed it in one go and flopped onto his bed again. He didn't really want to remember, but he needed to for his own peace of mind. The memories came rushing back in a whirl of colors and, for a moment, he thought he was going to be sick.

Sirius recalled what the powder had done to him and what it had made him do. Sirius watched as things got louder and clothing came off. He watched as he lowered himself to his knees in front of Barty Crouch Jr. He watched as both Lestrange brothers, MacNair, and Antonin Rasputin fucked him into the mattress. He watched as more white powder was distributed. And he watched in growing horror as he and Snape went at it like bunnies. Although he was rather proud of himself for the dominate.

Sirius watched as his brother came into view and felt like being sick as he saw himself screwing his baby brother. Sirius ran from the room as the memory train faded away, he really was going to be sick. He fell to his knees and lost everything he had eaten. No wonder Regulus didn't want him around. How could he have done such a horrid thing? He felt so dirty and could only pray that Regulus wouldn't remember everything.

Sirius knew he had to get out of this house. It was killing him.

/page break/

Sirius stood in the rain, waiting for the Knight Bus to come. He only had a couple of sickles, but it should get him out of London. Besides he had shrunk his belongings down so he could change into Padfoot at a moments notice. He sat down heavily on the sidewalk four streets away from Grimmauld Place and waited.

As he did, Sirius recalled the pandemonium that had ensued as he tried to escape. He had gone to Regulus's room and smoothed the hair away from his baby brother's sleeping face. He hoped that he would be able to apologize one day when things weren't so bad. He had kissed Regulus's forehead softly and left the room. Sirius, however, hadn't expected his parents to still be down in the parlor and was terribly startled. His mother had thrown an antique vase at his face when she realized what he was doing, covering him in shards of china. His father had bellowed and turned purple in the face. Sirius had thrown his family ring at them, yelled, and tried to back out of the door. Orion had come after him, until Sirius was pressed against the front door. Sirius flinched, expecting to be hit, but was surprised when a hand had run itself through his hair. Orion pressed a quick kiss against his temple and opened the door. Walburga appeared behind his father and Sirius flipped her the bird, stepping out of the door with his things.

Now he was waiting impatiently for a bus that wasn't coming. Great, he thought, what a night to do maintenance. He got up and started walking; checking to make sure his trunk was still in his pocket. He had owled Remus and James, telling them what had happened. He only hoped that the Potter's wouldn't be too mad that he had left while they were on holiday.

A loud hoot came from above and he watched his owl, Darrean, flutter down to him. He unfolded the letter and grinned; things were looking up. Sirius moseyed down the street humming a little tune.

/page break/

Remus smiled at him softly and held his arms out, Sirius fell into him, marveling at how tall Remus had gotten. They used to be several inches apart but the top of Remus's head now came to Sirius's eye level. Remus still favored his wool cardigans, though, the blue one he had on was rather lovely. Nice and soft, Sirius thought, as he hugged Remus tight.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, Rem. I'm okay. Just a little confused as to what's going to happen to me."

"Well, you can stay here as long as you'd like, dear." Remus's mother came up behind the two boys, opening her arms to receive her own hug. Sirius stepped into her arms after a moment of hesitation. He remembered the lady from three years ago, but wasn't sure if she remembered him. The fast wink she gave him when he drew away confirmed that, yes she did remember him.

"Are you hungry? Lunch should be done in a minute."

"I'm starving." Helena smiled happily and bounced off to finish cooking.

/page break/

Sirius sat on the second twin bed and stared at his toes. He felt a lot better now that he had had a shower, eaten great Italian food 'til he was stuffed, and was warm. The Lupin's home was very friendly and cozy. Both Helena and John were more than accommodating even though they didn't have much. It was no wonder that Remus was such a great person.

"Padfoot, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, I guess." Sirius looked up at the werewolf, who was balancing a large tray, and gave a small grin.

"Here, have a cup of hot cocoa, it always makes me feel better."

"You and your chocolate, Moony. Don't you ever get sick of it?"

"Never." Remus folded his long limbs onto the bed next to Sirius and pressed a large mug into his hands.

"I thought not."

The boys drank the chocolate quickly before climbing into bed. Remus fell asleep quickly, but Sirius tossed and turned for hours. He was too busy replaying the horrible nightmare that had become his life. At least he was being beaten anymore.

"Sirius, your hormone ridden angst is waking me up. Stop it."

Sirius snorted and rolled to face Remus, "Sorry Moon-pie, I'll try not to wake you up with my pity party."

There was a contended silence before an indignant; "Did you just call me Moon-pie?!" came out of the darkness.

/page break/

Sirius waved to the Lupins and turned to get on the Knight Bus, sad that he was leaving. He loved James and his parents to death, but they didn't have the same family dynamic that the Lupins did. The differences between the two families were startlingly clear when he arrived at the Potter's country home.

The ivy covered house, which had once been perfect, was now two sizes too big. The quaint entry hall with its cherry oak panels was far too opulent. And the dining table that sat ten comfortably was much too impersonal.

"Hey Pads! How was your stay at Moony's?" asked James, dragging Sirius into the dining area where dinner was being laid out. He saw Josephina Potter mouth the words 'Pads' and 'Moony' to her husband, Harold, who shrugged.

"It was great, you wouldn't believe what I learned!"

"You were learning? Wait, it's Moony, of course you were learning." James laughed and dug into the salad that sat between them.

"James, that's not polite. What did you learn, Sirius?" Josephina smiled and placed a piece of bread into her dainty mouth.

"Well, I learned how to make lasagna for one. The real kind, with all the meat and vegetables, plus six different cheeses. Remus's mother is part Italian."

"That's nice, what family is she from?" Harold asked, stirring his minestrone soup.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, not sure if Harold was asking him what Sirius thought he was.

"What family? De Medici? Vizziolo? Venturi?"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure, but I know you wouldn't have heard of them." Sirius fidgeted, cringing under the scrutiny.

"Just tell us, Pads. How many riches did Remus's mum have before she married his dad?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius cocked his head to the side, wondering where his best friend's superior attitude had come from.

"Well, Remus mentioned once that his mother had married into a lower class. 'Cause the Lupin family isn't pureblood anymore."

"Used to be a fine family. Until John's great grandfather married that muggle showgirl from the States, Emilia was the name. Only her stage name was Sparkling Diamond!" Sirius had a sickening realization as the Potter males chuckled over Daniel Lupin's "misfortune". It wasn't that James had gained the typical pureblood attitude; it was that Sirius had _lost_ his.

Staying with the Lupins seemed to have shoved most of the pureblood antics right out of his brain. He supposed this was because he had had to work for something he wanted. Helena was very giving, but only if you deserved or earned it. During his stay with Remus he had cleaned, done the washing, helped trim trees, and gave John a hand patching the roof. It was very humbling.

"Sirius, are you okay?"

He looked at James and nodded, "Could we not talk about this anymore?"

"Of course, dear. Who wants dessert?" asked Josephina. Sirius smiled and mouthed a quick 'thank you' to his other mother. She gave him a wink back and clapped her hands once. It seemed that Josephina had understood his problem. He'd have to ask her about it later.

/page break/

Sirius hadn't thought about he need for money until he got to Diagon Alley, had his new robes on, and was getting an expectant look from Madame Malkin's assistant. The fact that he was officially broke beat him over the head several times before laughing sadistically.

Josephina stepped up behind the woman and handed the required gold over. Sirius had never been so mortified in his life. He had thought that things couldn't get worse, but they did.

Regulus was placed on the stool next to Sirius and the two brothers stood in a tense silence. After several minutes of hemming, Regulus broke the strained moment.

"Cissa lost the baby."

"What?" Sirius looked at his brother incredulously.

"Yeah, it was that stuff we took. You know, the white powder." Regulus elaborated when Sirius gave him a confused look.

"Oh, is she…okay then?"

"A little traumatized, but fine."

"Well, that's…"

"Yeah."

"You haven't had anymore, right?"

"Anymore what, Sirius?"

"That stuff we took."

"What do you care?"

Sirius opened his mouth to reply when a, "What stuff you took?" came from beside him. He flinched and looked into Josephina's face.

"A new, all natural medicine thing, don't worry." Sirius smiled until Mrs. Potter walked away. He had never felt so bad for lying in his life.

A/N: There it's done. Thank goodness. The next three chapters are written so I just need to get them typed…and betad. But then they'll be up. Thank you for being patient with me!


	9. Bleeding Love

A/N: Okay, so this is a really, really short chapter. As always this doesn't belong to me, nor do the lyrics (Leona Lewis). Cheers.

Chapter Nine: Bleeding Love

_I don't care what they say; I'm in love with you. They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth._

Sirius stared at the lake, picking at his skin miserably, not understanding why it was still itching. Evans had cleared the odd coloring away three hours ago. Maybe he should grab some of Ansa Tidgrove's honey and lemon body lotion next time he saw her. Sirius sighed loudly when he realized how pathetic that particular thought had been.

"Jeez, I could hear you sulking all the way in Gryffindor Tower. Who killed Padfoot?"

Sirius glared at James as the other boy plopped down next to him. He really wanted to be alone right then and said so. James scoffed.

"Puh-lease, Padfoot. You do not need to be alone. Besides, what the hell are you pouting for anyway? Lily got all the color off, didn't she? And now we know not to mix Nightshade and Poly Gills together."

"It's nothing, Prongs, just leave it alone."

"No, something is bothering you, what is it?"

James looked so earnest that Sirius began to tell him. Telling his best friend about his family was quite possibly the hardest thing he had ever done. James had nodded in all the right places, gasped when appropriate, but still shook his head when Sirius was done.

"Thank you for telling me that, Sirius. But you and I both know that that isn't what's bothering you. You don't have to tell if you don't want to, but know that I'll still be here whenever you want to talk." And with that, James dusted off the seat of his trousers and walked back toward the castle.

Sirius wondered if insanity was contagious.

/page break/

Remus giggled helplessly as Sirius attacked his feet. Tickling them without mercy. It had been a complete accident that Sirius had found out about Remus's extremely sensitive, a.k.a ticklish, feet. But honestly, Remus shouldn't have gasped quite so loudly when Peter had dragged the edge of a blanket across them. Remus had practically been _begging_ for it.

Sirius let Remus get a gulp of air before diving back in; dodging the book Remus was trying to beat him with. This was true joy, but Remus would never, ever know.

/page break/

Sirius was glad that it was a Hogsmeade weekend, but did it have to be so damnedly cold? He had chosen to forgo the carriages and run to the village as Padfoot, informing the rest of the Marauders that he would meet them at the Three Broomsticks. Padfoot cantered past several of the homes, stopping outside the Shrieking Shack; it was still just as creepy in the daylight. Sirius changed back as he stared at the derelict building.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday." A voice came from behind Sirius, prompting a startled yelp and a three-foot jump.

"Calm down, kiddo. It's just me." Alphard Black grinned at his nephew.

"You won't tell, will you, Uncle?" Sirius asked, knowing that while his uncle was extremely nice, it may not extend to breaking the law.

"Nah, where would all the fun go? Now are you going to come here and give me a hug or not?"

Sirius smiled and leapt at his uncle, knocking them both into the fresh snow.

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you."

"You sounded so torn up in your last letter that I decided to come and see you."

It was true enough. Sirius had finally given in and told his uncle about his feelings for Remus. Alphard had immediately written back to Sirius, telling him how proud Sirius had made him by admitting it.

"So, what's been going on?" Alphard had turned them toward the village, but was taking his time. Sirius knew the less he said the longer the walk would take. Sirius spoke about his feelings for Remus, life in general, school woes, and somehow filled up the time it took them to get to the Three Broomsticks. His uncle listened quietly, making noncommittal noises to any rhetorical questions Sirius asked. It made the Gryffindor wonder how Alphard was related to his parents.

The two Blacks made it to the pub just as the other boys came up to it. James, who had met Alphard the summer before, was pulled into a hug and given a quick hair ruffle. Peter smiled tentatively at the older man. Sirius didn't blame him, Alphard was giving the squat boy an odd look. The other two headed into the pub as Remus moved forward.

Sirius grabbed the thin arm and pulled the suddenly shy Remus closer, "Alphard, this is Remus."

Remus gave a timid smile, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Black."

"Please, Mr. Black is my brother in law, Alphard will do. Nice to meet you Remus, I've heard so much about you."

Remus smiled wider and motioned towards the door, "Shall we?"

Sirius nodded and fell back to walk with his uncle. Alphard leaned in, "I like him."

"Me too." Sirius mumbled and felt warmer than a log fire.

/page break/

Sirius grinned as he watched James choke on his sip of Firewhiskey. Alphard laughed and took the glass back, "I told you, you wouldn't like it."

Sirius took the glass and tipped it back. The spicy warmth of the alcohol was soothing and the cinnamon aftertaste was nice, but the burning sensation was slightly unpleasant. He made a face and handed it back on the table. Remus slid it closer, looked at it for a moment, and took a sip. The other boys watched in fascination as Remus held it in his mouth and then swallowed without grimacing. Alphard snickered as the other boys groaned at the unfairness.

"Beaten by a bookworm, such shame." James moaned and plopped his head on the table. Remus grinned and all the males at the table saw the wolf inside him shine.

Alphard smiled, "Well boys, I'd better get back. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with Aurelieus."

Sirius chuckled and shook his head as his uncle stood. The man slid his cloak on and walked over to where Regulus and his friends were sitting. He pulled the slight boy up and wrapped his arms around the thin shoulders. It was plain to see that Regulus wasn't happy to be hugged in public, but was pleased with Alphard being there nonetheless. Things were still off between the brothers, but Sirius supposed that was just how it was going to be.

"Hey, Sirius, who's Aurelieus? Your uncle's boss?"

Sirius snorted into his chips, "Something like that."

The other boys looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?" Remus finally asked.

"Well, Aurelieus is my uncle's partner."

"Oh, he's an Auror, right?" James snapped to attention.

"No," Sirius shook his head, "Aurelieus is his life partner."

"Huh?"

Sirius sighed, "Alphard's gay, Peter. Aurelieus is his lover."

The looks on his friend's faces were almost comical in nature. Peter had stunned disbelief all over him, James had a look of morbid curiosity, and Remus…Remus had a warm blush all over his cheeks. It made him look rather fetching, actually.

/page break/

Remus laughed softly as Sirius sent a flash of glitter over him. It was Christmas once again. He had the young werewolf all to himself. He had finally decided to do as his uncle had suggested back in October. Tell Remus. Sirius had no idea how to even start, so he focused on clearing his mind on everything except Remus and opened his mouth.

Sirius had expected fireworks, violin music, or maybe people cheering when he kissed Remus for the first time. What he got was different than the original thought, but it was still much better than the alternative of Remus smacking him.

Sirius trailed a tentative hand down Remus's arm, to wrap around the slim waist. He felt the brittle looking fingers slip into his hair and pull to the left, effectively slanting their mouths together perfectly. Sirius couldn't stop the stupidest grin from spilling across his face as he felt the warm mouth trail down his throat. This was so much better.

/page break/

"So, when did you decide you were gay?"

"I hardly _decided_ to be gay, James. It just happened." Sirius sighed, this was the third turn around the lake and James still did not understand.

"Well, I hardly think having both hands under Erika Sharpanova's skirt was…" James trailed off as Sirius turned to the nearest tree and beat his head against it.

"James, you're practically my brother and I love you, but you are a stupid jackass. I don't know why I hang out with you."

"My devilish good looks?"

Sirius snorted, "Hardly."

"My charming personality?"

"Nope."

"My unparalleled intelligence?"

"Not likely."

"My total disregard for the rules?"

"That must be it."

They laughed and continued walking. James broke the silence by sighing and saying, "I guess it's your choice, but I don't get it. I can accept it though, can't be any more difficult than accepting that Moony has a furry problem."

"Thanks, James."

"You're welcome."

"Would it be too much to ask for a hug?"

"Don't push it."

"Alright. A manly embrace?"

"Fine."

Sirius smirked as James hugged him, neither wanting to mention that any sort of embrace really wasn't that "manly" at all.

A/N: Here you go. Um…yay me. Also, my beta apologizes profusely for being slow and a bunch of other things, but it's okay 'cause I like her anyways.


	10. Me & My Uncle

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.

A/N: Ok I'm sick of excuses so basically I'm sorry that this took so freaking long.

UNBETAD! And since my lovely beta has had prior engagements to deal with, such as a new university (Go her!), I'm going to need a new beta. I wish that she could keep with me, but just like writing you need to have time, school gives you none of that. So if you'd be interested in betaing please let me know!

Chapter 10: Me & My Uncle

Sirius trudged up the stairs, dragging his Auror robes behind him. Training was one of the hardest things he had ever done and it wasn't over for the next six weeks! He saw James every day, of course, but as they only got to venture home on the weekend, he hadn't seen much of Remus. Poor Remus, he thought, digging through his pockets trying to find his keys. The were hadn't been able to find a decent job for more than a few weeks at most. No one wanted to employ a "dangerous creature", which was racist and ridiculous. Remus wasn't any more dangerous than any other magical creature.

He managed to get the door to the flat open, still slumped over pathetically. He dropped the Auror robe on the floor before straightening. It smelt like coffee. Remus _hated_ coffee. So why was there coffee brewing in the flat when he wasn't here?

Sirius peered through each tiny doorway until he reached the kitchen. When he saw made him stare in shock. Remus was backed into the countertop with another man wrapped around him! Sirius opened his mouth to yell obscenities at the two, but Remus raising his head stopped him short.

Remus looked a mess and it was obvious he had been crying. It took only a moment to realize that the other man was crying as well and that Remus was only hugging him. Which made Sirius feel a little better. But it still didn't answer the question of who it was.

The other man drawing away from Remus made him realize two things. One was that the "other man" was his baby brother and two, something was very wrong.

"What's going on?"

Regulus whipped around but didn't disentangle himself from Remus. It was hard to remember that Regulus was only seventeen when he acted so tough. But with tear tracks down his cheeks and tousled hair he looked much younger.

"Sirius…" Regulus started before staring at his shoes. Sirius got the shock of his life when, after a few seconds of silence, Regulus flung himself into his brother's arms.

"What's wrong?"

"Sirius, its Uncle Alphard." Sirius felt his blood freeze.

"What about him?"

"He…he died yesterday afternoon." Sirius shook his head, it wasn't possible, he had seen Alphard yesterday morning. The man had looked just fine. He had come by the training field to see how Sirius was getting on. He couldn't be gone.

"How?"

"I don't know. The healers said something about it being muggle."

"Muggle? How could a pureblood wizard get a muggle ailment?"

"I said I don't know!"

"Sirius, stop it. You're not helping anybody."

"What's your problem, Remus? All I want to know is what happened to my uncle."

"He was my uncle, too!" Regulus cried, glaring up at his older brother, but not moving from his spot in the warm arms.

Sirius sighed, "I know, Reggie. It's just…I saw him yesterday and I don't understand…"

"It happens, Pads. You can't stop something like that." Remus came over to the brothers and rested his head on Sirius's shoulder. The three stood in a pensive silence, all remembering their favorite memories of Alphard Black. The two Blacks curled into the shaggy haired werewolf and were closer than they had been for the last seven years.

/page break/

The funeral was very grand. It came as something of a surprise, given how most of the family hadn't liked Alphard much. Then again, thought Sirius as he watched his uncle being lowered into the ground, it would be deemed inappropriate to seem anything but concerned. Mustn't let the public think there was something wrong in the House of Black.

Sirius also realized that his being there was something of a miracle. Andromeda was there as well, standing between her sisters. He wondered how she had even found out, but judging by the way Narcissa held her hand it was quite possible that Lady Malfoy had told her.

A small hand fitted into his on both sides. Regulus on one side…and Remus on the other. Sirius knew his mother was going to blow a gasket when she got a hold of him, but he didn't care. He needed Remus like he needed air. He didn't care what anyone said.

/page break/

Sirius was startled into action as the bottle of Firewhiskey he was drinking was savagely ripped from him.

"What is your problem?" He shouted at Remus.

"What's my problem? You want to know what _my_ problem is?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"My problem is that you've turned into a slobbering, drunken mess and I'm sick of it!"

Sirius stared at Remus like he was seeing the werewolf for the first time. It was very easy to forget that the mild bookworm was actually a furry monster once a month and, therefore, had a rather destructive temper. He took a glance around himself and noticed the empty bottles, newspapers, and general chaos of the room.

"Moony…"

"I know you're lonely, Sirius and upset, but you've no right to behave like this. I'm so tired of it." Remus did look quite exhausted. It probably didn't help that the full moon was so close.

"I don't know what happened, Remmie. One moment I was fine and then…"

Remus sighed and sank down next to his lover, "It's called depression, Sirius. And its understandable since you just lost Alphard, but…"

"Shut up."

"Excuse me?" Remus looked at Sirius in shock. Sirius was too busy glaring at the floor to notice.

"I said shut up. You don't know what its like to lose someone. I don't want your pity."

"I'm not pitying you, Sirius. I want to help." Remus kept talking, but Sirius couldn't see past the red, drunken, haze that was building in his mind. Remus had no idea what he was talking about. He had two parents who loved him and a few other family members that he could go to for help. Sirius had no one. Alphard was all that he had. Even Regulus didn't give a damn about what happened to him.

Sirius, its okay to be sad, but drinking is not healthy. Please talk to me; I want to-" Remus was cut off sharply as he fell to the floor. Sirius looked around, startled, before realizing that he was the reason for Remus's fall. Sirius felt like an alien in his own body as he matched the handprint on Remus's face to the hand he still held aloft.

Then it dawned on Sirius, as Remus struggled to stand, he had physically struck the man he loved. He had _hit_ Remus. Badly too, it seemed, for Remus was wobbling dangerously.

"Fuck. Remmie, I didn't…I'm so sorry…" Sirius stammered as the haze faded away and Remus backed away from his advances.

"Stay away from me." Remus trembled and moved toward the floo, looking like a beaten puppy.

"Remmie." Sirius whispered as Remus flooed away. What had he done?

/page break/

Three weeks, two black eyes, and a broken nose later Remus came back. He entered the flat silently and tried to creep to their bedroom without Sirius noticing. He managed to get down the thin hall and into their tiny room before Sirius came up behind him.

"Hey."

Remus shot straight up and gave him a wide-eyed look. Sirius looked down, ashamed of himself, he had sworn that Remus would never be afraid of him, but he had failed yet again.

"Hello."

"Um, I'm so sorry, Remus. I don't what's wrong with me. I don't…I…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

Remus sighed and held a hand up, effectively cutting off the stammered apologies, "It's okay, Padfoot. I've had worse."

Sirius felt his jaw drop, "_What!?_ No! It's not okay. I don't want you to be afraid of me!"

"Just leave it, Sirius. I've had enough of fighting."

"Oh," Sirius mumbled, "So you're leaving me then?"

Remus looked surprised at the kicked puppy that had become his lover, "No, Siri. Not that you don't deserve it, but I'm staying. Just know that if you _ever_ hit me again you will regret it."

The thought of Remus making him regret something was more frightening then Sirius wanted to contemplate. He thanked whatever gods had decided that Remus needed to stay with him and left it at that. Sirius moved to take Remus into his arms and winced when Remus wouldn't relax, but he did accept the hug, which was a start. It would take time, but Sirius was determined to get things back to normal.

/page break/

Six weeks had passed before the two realized it and their lives were getting back on track. Sirius was now addicted to morning cartoons, Alvin and the Chipmunks in particular, instead of booze. Remus was once again sleeping in their bed and for that Sirius was thankful. It had gotten very lonely without the other male.

"Siri?"

"In here, Remmie." Sirius called from where he was slouched on the sofa.

"Watching Alvin again, are you?" asked Remus as he walked into the room.

"You bet. What's up?" Sirius replied, pulling Remus into his lap.

"This came for you." Remus mumbled, handing Sirius the cream colored envelope. Sirius took it and slid open the letter. A short note fell out but Sirius recognized that calligraphy anywhere. It had been on his Christmas presents for as long as he could remember.

"Oh."

"What's the matter?"

"It's from Aurelieus."

"Oh, dear."

"Yeah."

"What's it say?"

"Nosy much?" Sirius squirmed as Remus poked him in the side, "He wants to meet with me."

"Oh. Um, is that a bad thing?"

"I don't really know. What would I even say?"

"That you're sorry for his loss?"

Sirius gave Remus a very bland look. That was not helpful.

"Just go, Sirius. It won't hurt you or Aurelieus." Sirius knew that Remus was right; he always was.

/page break/

Sirius sat in the corner booth, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Judging by the looks he was receiving, Sirius was pretty sure he was not doing a very good job.

He watched as a hooded man came into the pub and spoke to the bartender for a moment. A few head movements later and the man moved toward the stairs. The bartender came to Sirius's table, placed a slip of paper on the surface, and walked away.

Sirius walked into the private tearoom and had to gape in surprise. He remembered Aurelieus quite well from his childhood and could not relate the funny, happy-go-lucky man to the sad, desolate being before him. Aurelieus was wearing the deepest of black with a brocaded gold lining; the traditional mourning robes for a widow or widower. The once proud man was despondent and depressed to the point of illness. A person could tell that he had not slept or eaten properly in weeks.

"Leo…" Sirius whispered. Aurelieus shot up from his chair at the nickname and Sirius could see he had been crying.

"Siri…how…how are you?" Sirius watched as the broken hearted man fell to pieces at that one sentence.

"I'm dealing. You obviously aren't." Aurelieus shook his head in typical pureblooded denial and tried to refuse Sirius's statement. Sirius gave a sigh and stalked forward. The older man took a step backwards, breaking Sirius's own heart, but allowed Sirius to drag him into a hug. The sad and stuttering man sank into his arms once he realized that he wasn't being turned away and Sirius knew that he wasn't going to lose his adopted uncle, even if it killed him.

/page break/

Sirius lay awake staring morosely at the ceiling. It had been several months since Alphard had died but he still wasn't used to the feeling of emptiness. The fortune that the man had acquired was given to Sirius, although he had discreetly transferred a large portion of it to Aurelieus's account. It was just so surreal. It was almost as though it had never happened.

"Sirius. Stop this. Making yourself miserable isn't going to help or bring Alphard back." Remus burrowed his face into Sirius's chest, wrapping himself around the depressed Animagus. Sirius sighed and ran his hand through the silky bronze locks.

"It hurts."

"I know love, I know."


	11. Never Too Late

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING SO DRATTIDLY LATE! This is where it starts to be a little AU. Just a warning.

Chapter 11: Never Too Late

_ "Now and again we try to just stay alive; maybe we'll turn it around. Cause its not too late; it's never too late."_

Sirius stepped off the cement steps, glancing around the Tube station carefully. It wouldn't do to draw unnecessary attention to himself or his comrades. It didn't help that he was pretty sure this was a trap. The owl that had been sent to headquarters went directly to the Head and if that wasn't suspicious, Sirius didn't know what was.

As it was twenty men had been dispatched immediately. And here they stood in an almost empty platform. It was very creepy. Sirius glanced at James, who was crouched behind one of the many pillars, awaiting an order from their superior.

"Confirmed. Thirteen known Death eaters just entered through the South entrance. More suspected on inbound train." Came the legimenized confirmation. Sirius looked at James once more, both wondering why the Death Eaters would be so carelessly obvious.

"Who do you think the hit is?" A voice from behind him had Sirius groaning. MacClaggen wasn't known for his tact.

"Not sure, although we have several commuters coming down North now. Keep watch for any potentials."

The Aurors watched as the Death Eaters filed into the station, quickly hiding themselves in shadows.

"Hey, Black, Potter, check out North entrance. I think we just found our targets."

Sirius turned and his eyes met those of a very startled Remus. James's mumbled "shit" reverberated through his mind. Remus paused in the doorway for a moment, worrying his scarf, before a feminine hand moved him forward. He reached out and caught himself on the pillar, before turning to glare at the girl behind him. Sirius groaned mentally as he realized who it was. H couldn't believe this was happening.

He saw Remus's eyes snap from him to James and then to Mad Eye Moody, who was growling softly. Sirius saw the were take in the entire platform and made to step backwards. Remus was moving slowly away from the danger zone when the female accompanying him moved onto the platform. Remus reached to grab her, hand on the wand hidden in the coat he wore, and miss her as her eyes widened in recognition.

"Hey! It's Sirius!" Three loud groans issued at Vicky's excited yell, "I thought you said he was working tonight!"

Remus tried to shush her as Sirius, giving up on being stealthy, moved toward the pair. He could feel the stares being thrown at him from every direction.

"Remmie, Vicky, how are you?" Sirius wrapped a cautious arm around his lover, wishing for this not to be happening. Remus gave a small shudder and moved closer, hand clenching upon the willow of his wand. Vicky was happily spewing on about the pros and cons of the restaurant they had gone to. Sirius was paying attention enough to be grossed out at the thought of vegan food. Eating grass did not seem appetizing.

"What is wrong with you two? You're all jumpy and shit, what gives?" Vicky placed her hands on her hips and glared at her rather eccentric neighbors.

The two glanced at each other briefly, wondering what to tell her. She was open enough that they may get away with explaining some things, but Sirius wasn't sure she'd believe that they were in the middle of a wizarding battle.

"It's nothing to worry about Vicky. Really." Remus tried to reassure the woman.

In retrospect, Sirius decided that she may have bought that rather flimsy excuse if not for the Death Eaters popping into action and screaming muggles pouring off the train. As it was Remus grabbed the astonished woman and pulled her behind the information booth. Sirius saw the other Aurors jump out of their hiding spots and he rushed to join the fray; knowing that Remus could take care of himself. He hoped that Vicky wouldn't put up too much resistance. This was guaranteed to be a bloody battle. He just hoped that everyone came out of it alright.

/page break/

Sirius burst through their front door and ran up the stairs to the tiny apartment door. He hadn't been paying too close attention, but he had seen Remus get hit with flying tile shards. He heard feet stomping up their stairs behind him and turned, his eyes meeting those of James before ramming the door open. They pushed their way into the common area where Lily was attending to the cuts on Remus's face.

"Remmie! Are you okay?" Sirius dropped to the floor next to the couch. Remus gave him a tired smile and a thumbs up.

"He's fine. But his arm is going to be sore for awhile."

"Sirius put a hand on the heavily bandaged arm and winced in sympathy, "I'm sorry, Rem. If I could have…"

"If you could have prevented it, I would still rather me be injured than anyone else."

"How's Vicky?"

"The same. A little spooked but alright. Turns out her aunt is Marchetta Deriso." Remus laughed.

"Deriso? You mean the Amazon lady in the Wizengamot?"

"One and the same. So no Obliviators needed."

"Is she…?"

"Nah. Daughter of a Squib and a full blooded muggle."

"Ah."

"Are you two talking about the crazy neighbor down the hall?" James asked, scratching the bridge of his nose.

"She's not crazy. She's eclectic." Remus mumbled.

"Yeah, right."

/page break/

Sirius lay back against the brick wall and prayed that no one had seen him. It wouldn't do for a well-known Auror to be caught in Knockturn Alley wearing street clothes. But he had to come down here; there was an apothecary that may carry something to help Remus. It was just a whisper, heard from Mudungus Fletcher, but it could be worth the risk. Moony's transformations were getting more brutal, something that was a natural occurrence. It didn't make the situation any more comforting.

The door was silent as he stepped into the sketchy apothecary. He could see why it had such a seedy reputation. The floor was dirty, the cabinets covered in dust, the counters were absolutely filthy, and Sirius was positive that he saw several cockroaches hiding in the corner. There were only three other people in the store besides him: the storekeeper and a rather odd looking couple. They paid no attention to Sirius as he moved to the shelves. There were all sorts of illegal potions and tonics, but the one he was looking for was nowhere to be found. He would have to ask then.

"Excuse me." The clerk glared at him in clear irritation, "I'm looking for a newer potion. It's supposed to help werewolves…"

The clerk looked panicked for a moment, making strange shushing noises. Sirius looked at the man, confused as to why he had to be quiet seeing as how the couple had left. The man motioned for him to stay put and walked into the back of the apothecary. Sirius waited for twenty minutes before giving up. He had started to walk away when the man came back. He carried with him a silver bottle and placed it gently into a red velvet sack.

"Thank…you. Sirius said as the man rang him up, wondering why the man wouldn't speak. A toothless and tongue less grin answered him. With a heavy heart and lighter pockets Sirius forked over the thirty galleons required. He left the shop hoping that this might make Remus feel better about the coming full moon.

/page break/

Sirius cringed; he couldn't believe he had listened to Dung. He was going to kill that little creep, right after he handed the apothecary name over to his superiors.

"Stop it, Siri."

"What? I'm not doing anything!"

"I can see the wheels turning." Remus whispered.

"I'm sorry." Sirius sighed and climbed into the bed.

"It's not your fault. I was stupid enough to drink the damn thing."

"I know, but I should have known it was dodgy. I'm a Black and an Auror for Merlin's sake."

"Sirius, neither of us could have known there was liquid silver in there. It's okay, just painful." Remus wrapped his arms around the other man and smiled at the blue walls around him. Josephina Potter had been the best choice to go to after he started convulsing and having hallucinations. She had a medical background and was used to such horrors.

"Neither of you need to blame yourselves. My only wish would be to beat the man who sold you that poison into pancake batter!" Josephina's voice got more forceful and slightly hysterical as she continued. Sirius and Remus fell backwards, slightly concerned, and vowing to check their breakfast from now on.

"Anyone hungry?" She finished and both boys just nodded their heads slowly, scared that she'd go ballistic if they refused.

/page break/

"What are you doing, Pads?" Remus watched in amusement as Sirius tore a letter into teeny, tiny shreds.

"I'm getting rid of my anger. What does it look like?" Sirius rubbed his fingers together, ensuring that the parchment was turned into confetti.

"I…why?"

"I didn't want to read it."

"Who was it from?" Sirius was quiet while he picked up some of the newly created confetti and swished it around.

"Sirius?"

"Regulus, it was from Regulus."

"Did you even open it?"

"No."

"Sirius!"

"Don't, Remus. I don't care about his opinion anymore and he doesn't care about me."

"Oh, Siri." Remus wrapped his lover in a firm hug, knowing that it was hard for the man to pretend he didn't care.

It had been a month since Regulus had sent the letter and everyday Sirius wondered what was in it. He wished he hadn't been so hasty in tearing it up. But he didn't want to swallow his pride and write his brother.

He walked toward the Leaky Cauldron, anxious to be out of the open walkway. It didn't bode well to be in one spot for too long. He stepped into the pub and sighed, he was the last one there…again. Sirius sat amidst the chuckles and kissed Remus on the cheek quickly. Being homosexual may not have been illegal, but it wasn't popular.

"Hey, Prongs, Wormtail, what's up?"

"Just waiting on your sorry ass, so we can eat. I'm starving! Lily has me up at all hours of the night with these stupid wedding plans." James moaned, clunking his head on the table as the other laughed.

"And I thought Sirius was the melodramatic one." Remus said.

"Oi! I resemble that remark!" Sirius cried, dragging Remus into a headlock. The young men laughed again.

Thirty minutes and a pile of chips later, a hush fell over the establishment. The four males looked to where the source of the uncomfortableness was. A dirty and wan Auror was talking to Tom and looking at their table nervously. The man began to walk towards them slowly and the entire table knew that something was very wrong.

/page break/

Their feet pounded the cobblestone pavement as the four friends raced toward the main Gringotts building. They knew they were getting close when the forming crowd came into view. The first few in the back moved out of the way when they saw Sirius coming. The sea of people parted quickly, leaving him a clear path.

Remus's gasp and James's quiet 'shit' were all that permeated his stunned mind as he gazed in horror at his baby brother's mutilated body. Regulus was draped across the marble steps, blood everywhere. One could barely tell if he had any skin left, since most of it looked like raw hamburger meat. He had been completely stripped and spread out like some sort of messiah. The only thing that hadn't been touched was his face.

"No…NO! No, no, no, no." Sirius chanted over and over as he stumbled to his brother's body. He dropped to his knees but couldn't be bothered by the fact that blood was seeping into his clothes. He couldn't bring himself to touch Regulus either. All he could do was run his fingers through his own hair and cry. He faintly heard the crowd dispersing but didn't care.

/page break/

Sirius had held onto his brother for as long as he could. He couldn't believe that his little brother was gone. It must be some sort of sick joke, but it wasn't. Sirius knew that, he really did, he just didn't want to believe it. Now he sat in his own bed, in his flat, with the people he cared about. He was resting against James, with Remus wrapped about his middle. Lily sat at the end of the bed, miserably pretending to sip tea, while Peter sat on the trunk at the foot of the bed. Sirius didn't know when he had started crying again, but it had yet to stop and his sinuses were beginning to feel the pressure.

He sighed and rested more firmly upon James, the other man grunted slightly, taking Sirius's full weight, but ran a hand through his "brother's" shaggy hair. Remus tightened his grip and sighed, snuggling closer. It was almost two in the morning and he knew that it was going to be another long day. They all needed some sleep.

The four on the bed watched blearily as Peter stammered an excuse and left. Remus was about to suggest the same to James and Lily, when Lily tugged off her shoes and climbed in behind Remus. The three males looked at her strangely for a moment before she spoke.

"What? There's no point in leaving; we're all comfortable. Now budge over Remus. " Remus laughed and scooted two inches closer, the two only had a queen sized bed, there was not enough space for four nearly grown adults.

Sirius and Remus scrunched closer so that maybe James and Lily wouldn't fall of the bed. Al four giggled in the dark for long moments, not that the three males would ever admit to giggling, of course. They fell asleep before long, the Gryffindor red quilt covering them. They would deal with what happened tomorrow.

/page break/

Sirius stood next to his father for the first time in four years. They weren't yelling or besmirching the other for once, he only wished it were for a different reason. Yet here they stood, watching as Regulus's body was lowered into the ground. It was a defining moment; the moment when Sirius knew he could never be a part of this pureblooded world, it was too prejudiced. Remus had been banned just because of his half blood status. The man had assured him that it was okay and that he'd be waiting for Sirius afterwards.

As the minister spoke, he glanced around at the family gathered. Narcissa was mournfully lovely in black and silver, while Andromeda was fading into the background. It was quite astonishing to see who was here and who wasn't. As he looked around he could feel the tears building again and gave a discreet sniffle.

Or what he thought was a discreet sniffle for as he straightened he felt his father's arm slip around him for a moment, a brief hug, and then he was released. A small smile was shared between the two Black men and then it was over, but Sirius felt much better for it. The two would never get along or agree, but he couldn't wait to tell Remus about the small moment.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

A/N: I'M SO SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO SORRY! There is no excuse for my tardiness. I hope you enjoy. By the way, this is unbetad!

Chapter 12:

Sirius glanced down at the tiny human that lay beside him. Harry was sleeping quietly for once, his colic finally gone. It had been a hell of a month for everyone. The baby had needed almost constant care and with James being a new Auror and Lily a Healer, they weren't able to be with Harry as much as they wanted to. Ergo, Remus had become a primary caretaker for Little Prongs. Sirius helped where he could, especially before the full moon. He knew that it drove Remus nuts to not be working and, therefore, tossed himself into research for the Order and caring for Harry.

"Is he finally asleep?"

"Yeah. He's a pretty cute little guy when his mouth is shut." Sirius grinned at the snickering Remus. The other man came and sat on the bed next to his two favorite males.

"So are you."

"Oh! You wound me! Such a cold lover!" Sirius whimpered and curled around the baby's petite body.

"Shut up, Paddy." They both laughed, cradling the newest generation between them.

/page break/

Harry giggled and bounced up and down in excitement. The Marauders laughed and moved to sit around the new one year old. Someone had given the infant too much sugar. It was more than likely Headmaster Dumbledore, who loved to ply unsuspecting people with muggle sweets.

"Hey cute stuff, how're you?" James bent over and pulled his not-so-little son up onto his feet. "Are you enjoying your birthday party?"

"Please, of course he is. His feet barely touch the ground, he's had more sugar than I'd like, plus he's got a mountain of presents." Lily cried, walking up to the males. All five grinned; part amusement and part exasperation.

Harry plopped down on his bum, pulling his blanket towards him. James picked Harry up, cradling him close. This was probably going to be the last time they would have so many people around. Not many knew it but James and Lily would be performing the Fidelius Charm within the week. There was no telling when Harry would have a birthday party again.

/page break/

Sirius kissed Remus softly. He did not want his lover to wake up. The man would try to stop him from checking on Peter for the seventh time today. Remus wasn't aware of the Secret Keeper change, but it was still prudent to check on the small animagus.

As he pulled out of his parking space he couldn't possibly know that it would be the last time he would see his amazing partner for a very long time.

/page break/

"How could you, Sirius?"

"How could I? How could I what, Pettigrew!" Sirius snarled at the portly man standing across the platform from him. The only thing preventing Sirius from crossing the tracks was the inbound train.

"You killed them! Why?"

Sirius glared at the man and scoffed, "Please. You're the traitor. You were the Keeper!"

Peter smirked as the last two sentences were cut off by the baring horn. "James and Lily, Sirius! You murdered them!"

The muggles standing on either side shifted nervously. This was not a good conversation to hold in a public domain.

"Well, I may not have directly done it, but I am responsible. And I'll have to live with that, but you will have to live with a more personal knowledge of how they died. Why, Peter? Did you even think about Harry?"

"I'm sorry, Sirius. But I can't let you get away."" Sirius sprang into action as the rat pulled his wand.

There was a huge bang as the train barreled past, filling the Underground with a thick, acrid smoke. Sirius could hear the quick pops of Apparation and sighed. It was going to end now and he could go home.

A wind blew through the station and cleared the smoke away. Muggle bodies were everywhere and blood was staining the white tile. The only problem was that Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Sirius Black, you are under arrest for the murders of James and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and thirteen British citizens of Muggle descent."

He could only laugh as they bound him and bore him off the Azkaban. It was laugh or cry and Blacks were taught to never let them see you cry.

/page break/

It was so cold. He had been numb for so long. The only thing that was keeping him from dieing of hypothermia was the scarce warming spells that Aurors cast every ten months. Or, at least, that's how long he thought it was. Time was incredibly hard to keep in Azkaban.

Sirius glanced down at the Prophet that had been given to him that morning. He couldn't stop staring at the photograph that adorned the front of the article. "Weasley's Win Big!" proclaimed the heading, but Sirius paid it no mind. What had captured his attention was the small rat that was perched on one of the boy's shoulder.

Sirius Black grinned in a manner that could be considered mad and whispered, "I'll get you sooner or later, Wormie. Sooner or later."

/page break/

Sirius lay on the shore, panting harshly, he was so glad that Remus had made him learn to swim. He shook his head in amazement, he could remember his lover without having the memory yanked from him seconds later. He could still feel the Dementors presence, which meant that he needed to move and soon. He may have fooled them once but he doubted they'd fall for it again.

But where would he go? Remus perhaps? No, not Remus, the man would have relocated as soon as possible seeing as how Sirius had been paying the rent. Dumbledore? He didn't really know how the man felt about his imprisonment but he didn't want to find out by showing up and being hexed. Besides, based on how warm it was, school would be out by now and Hogwarts locked down. He wondered for long moments about who to go to before an idea came to him. It was incredibly risky, but she was the only person who might help him, if only for the barest of moments.

He stared at the tidy corner house in silence. He really didn't know if this was a good idea or not, but he was sure as hell going to try. Sirius walked up to the door and pushed the doorbell. He could hear some shuffling inside before creaking came from down the hallway. Sirius had a brief moment of panic, trying to decide if he should go quickly, when the choice was stripped from him. The door was flung open and light spilled into the dark night.

Ted Tonks stared at the extremely emaciated man on his front porch for a moment before muttering a "Good Lord" and dragging Sirius inside. He called for his wife feeling the man beside him tense. She came floating down the hall only to stop in shock at the men loitering in her front hallway.

Andromeda stared at her cousin blankly. It was almost as if she didn't know if he was really there. One step, then twice, before he was dragged into the strongest hug the woman could muster, all the while crying his name. Sirius held on to his favorite cousin and buried his nose into the soft summer robe she wore. He smiled; Andromeda still had the raspberry perfume he had gotten her before he was sent away.

"Sirius! I didn't realize you had been released! You should have owled me and I would have come to get you."

Sirius cringed, "Andie, they didn't release me. I got out."

He watched as the woman paused to digest the fact that he was an escapee sink in before speaking again, "I didn't do it, Andie. You have to believe me. Peter and I switched at the last moment and never told anyone."

"No one?" Ted spoke from behind.

"Not Dumbledore, the Order, or Remus. Not even Lily knew about it unless James told her afterwards. Please, Andie, why would I kill my brother?"

"You wouldn't, but I don't understand, why did you not speak up at your trial?"

"There was no trial."

"They put you in Azkaban for no reason, then?"

"Pretty much."

"Bastards!" Sirius choked as Andromeda squeezed him tight.

"Andie! Must. Breathe." She loosened her arms with a sheepish grin.

"Why come to us then? If you've escaped that is, why not Lupin or Dumbledore?"

Sirius gave Ted a long look, sensing the uneasiness in the man's posture. He shook his head briefly to get rid of the fuzziness seeping in and replied, "I promise I won't be here long. I just needed someplace for the night."

"Oh, but, you can stay here, right Ted?"

"Wrong. Have you forgotten your daughter so easily?"

"Dora? How is she? The last time I saw her…wow, twelve years ago. I hadn't thought I was in prison that long." Sirius felt woozy, no doubt from the realization that he had lost a decade of his life to those soul-sucking fiends. And he didn't mean the Dementors either.

"Don't let her hear you call her that. She's in that "I hate my name" phase. And you may be right, Ted, but we're not leaving Sirius to fend for himself."

"What do you mean? I promise Dora won't know I'm hear if that's a problem."

"It's not that, Siri. Dora is…well, she's…she's in Auror training."

Sirius felt like he had been punched in the gut. "Oh." Was all that he managed to choke out. What a truly awkward situation. Now he knew why Ted didn't really want him here. All of them could be arrested if the youngest Tonks showed up while he was there.

"Maybe…hang on a moment." Andromeda rushed into the living room and the floo could be heard going on. The two men stood in the silent hallway, ignoring the huge white elephant that stood between them. There was some brief mumbling and then a sooty Andromeda pulled him toward the floo.

"Don't worry. I promise nothing will happen to you. Trust us." was all that Andromeda said before pushing him into the still green fireplace. The last person he expected to see was standing at the other end.

"Quickly, we must get you upstairs before Draco sees."

Sirius looked at the still beautiful Narcissa Malfoy and asked, "Draco?"

"My son."

"Oh, how old?"

"Thirteen a few weeks ago."

"That's the same as…"

Narcissa gave him a knowing smile, "Yes. The same year at Hogwarts actually."

"Oh. Um, have you…?"

"Never. Draco complains about him often enough though."

Sirius smiled, still showing no teeth, he wasn't sure how badly twelve years of plaque had caused them. He was shown into a guest bedroom and directed to the loo.

"Shower and then we'll get you something to eat. Lucius won't be home for another two days so you can stay here until then, alright?"

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because…you're family." Narcissa closed the door behind her.

/page break/

Padfoot lay low in the bushes, trying to trail the teen in front of him without being seen. It was hard enough to keep moving now that the sun had set and cold was creeping in, he didn't want the young wizard to be startled. Mostly untrained wizards were notorious for blasting curses off and then thinking about it. Good in combat, bad for everyday use.

Or course, all was in vain and Padfoot winced as his godson went head over heels onto the pavement, catching the curb as he did so. Ouch, was all he could think before the large Knight Bus came crashing into view. Sirius got nauseous just thinking about riding the purple monstrosity, but was glad Harry had found a way to get safe. It was amusing to ponder on the 'Giant Flying Woman' spectacle he had viewed earlier, but didn't like the fact that Harry had been left on his own.

/page break/

Sirius placed a gently hand on the pale cheek before him and smiled. Even if this was as close as he ever got to Harry, he was glad that he had seen the boy at all. He certainly hadn't expected to get this close, but that poor Longbottom boy had been such a klutz. However, Sirius did ponder the sanity of having Sir Cadogen as a guardian. The man was absolutely barmy and coming from Sirius, that was saying something.

The animagus shook his head and pulled the covers closer to the teen's chin and stepped away. It was time to do what he had come for. Sirius twisted the dagger in his hand and wondered how badly Narcissa was missing it, resolving to return the heirloom.

/page break/

Draco Malfoy flopped onto the green covers with a sigh, wishing that he didn't have to get back up and go to History of Magic. He shuffled slightly and gasped when something poked him in the neck. He touched his hand to the small spot and groaned when it came away bloody. He pulled away the covers, irritated.

He stared, stunned, at the antique dagger that had been missing from his home since late June. As he picked it up his eyes landed on a note that had fluttered to the floor. It simply read:

_ Thanks! – SB_

A/N: Ta-da! Only one chapter left!


	13. All Around the World

Standard Disclaimer Applies.

A/N: Here it is! The end. I hope you enjoyed it and I apologize for the very late posting.

Un-Betad! If anyone would like to volunteer I'd be very pleased, just send me a PM.

Evolving Padfoot: Chapter 13

All Around the World

Now that Mudungus Fletcher, Hestia Jones, Absalom Whitney, the Tonks' and most others were already on the Order brigade, there were only two more stops to make and these were the hardest.

Surrey hadn't changed much in the roughly two years that had passed. It was still the perfect picture of suburbia. Privet Drive hadn't changed in its annoying perfection.

"This is not normal. Such rigidity should land you in a psych ward." He mumbled, shrugging his black jacket tighter. It was far too warm for a "hoodie", whatever that meant, but Dumbledore had insisted on muggle wear that concealed.

"Well, you'd know all about psych wards, wouldn't you, Paddy?'

Sirius grinned doggishly at Remus, glad that he didn't have to come here by himself. His willpower would have given out the minute he'd reached the tiny suburb.

For while they were updating Arabella Figg, the old coot had forbidden any visits to Harry. He'd pretty much forbidden any contact for the time being.

Remus spoke at length with Mrs. Figg, but Sirius couldn't recall any of it. After she had plied him liberally with lemonade and stale biscuits, she had sat patiently while Remus explained things. Of course, part of the distraction was all the cats wandering to and fro. But what Sirius really wanted was to check on his godson.

Summer break had started a mere three weeks ago, but the poor kid already sounded depressed. The letters were getting more and more morose sounding and Sirius's heart ached for Harry, he knew what it was like to be locked up with people who didn't like him much.

Padfoot crept towards number four, trying to be a quiet as possible. He checked all around the house but couldn't see or smell Harry. That was worrying, if he was already slipping out of the house what would happen when the Order guards got posted?

The dog found a faint trail and followed it, hoping that it would lead him to the M.I.A. teen. Twenty minutes and a nose full of dirt later, Harry was found. Or as found as Remus would let him get. For just as Sirius started to bound forward a slim hand grabbed him by the scruff.

"Look, but don't touch, remember? This is as close as we're getting." Remus muttered, holding Padfoot 'round the neck.

"I know you don't like it, but that's what is going to happen. I want to see him too, Pads, but we can't." Remus said as the Animagus whined and strained toward the sad looking boy on the swing.

"Soon."

/page break/

The second visit would take much longer, Sirius knew, although Remus's optimism was nice. He, however, had no doubt in his mind that Molly Weasley would _**not**_ be happy to see them. In fact, it was for that very reason that Padfoot was hiding under the front stoop, while Remus laughed at him.

"You big chicken! You made it through Auror training, survived twelve years in Azkaban, and thwarted a bunch of Dementors twice! Yet, you're afraid of Molly Weasley?"

If dogs could speak, Padfoot would be giving Remus a great big "DUH!" He eventually crawled out when he heard Arthur's voice, maybe this wouldn't be so bad, with both Remus and Arthur to buffer.

He was so very wrong. In fact, he was so wrong that he wanted a time turner to go back and warn himself. Sirius was aware of the fact that the fiery matriarch didn't like him much, but screaming and throwing things in protest was a bit much.

Remus kept trying to sooth the woman, but Sirius was no dummy, he was curled up as Padfoot under the werewolf's chair and wouldn't budge. No matter how many times Remus kicked him.

"Wow. Who do you think got Mum so angry?"

"Dunno, but I'd like to congratulate them."

Snicker's came from the hall. Padfoot perked up, he knew one of those laughs. He plodded quietly to the door and turned the knob. Seconds later three Weasley boys and one Weasley girl tumbled into the kitchen.

"Well, look who decided to join us."

"Professor Lupin!" came four excited yells. Hugs galore for the werewolf, but none for the puppy. It was a sad state of affairs. Padfoot plopped down behind Ron and waited.

"What are you…OOF!" Ron landed on his bum and came nose to nose with Padfoot.

"We really gotta stop meeting like this." The boy said with a grin.

"What's that supposed to mean, Ronald?"

"Erm, nothing, Mum." Ron grinned sheepishly, obviously not wanting to tell her about the events of his third year.

At that moment, Sirius sensed a disturbance in the Force ("Really, Sirius? Really?') and decided that human honesty might not go amiss. Startled yelps from the other three kids welcomed his change. He stood, pulling Ron to his feet, saying, "Ron helped me out of a tight spot, you should be proud of this one, especially with what Harry's told me."

Remus grinned at Sirius, before smothering a snicker at the very red Weasley boy. Molly couldn't keep the proud look off her face long enough to reprimand them.

/page break/

"Hey, Moony! Check it out…" Sirius was cut off by two very surprised sounding "Oooohs".

"Oi, now you've done it." Ron flopped his head onto the table in front of him.

Remus looked at a confused Animagus and shrugged. Then he looked a tad panicked as the twins closed rank on him, which was a dangerous spot for anyone to be.

"Yes?"

"You're Moony? As in Moony of the Marauders fame?"

"Yes?" The affirmative came out as ore of a question, as if Remus were pondering the sanity of sanity of saying it.

"Well, duh, he's Moony, I'm Padfoot and…why are you looking at me like that?"

Needless to say, Remus never did see what Sirius thought was so neat.

/page break/

Sirius crept up the stairs, trying not to wake any of the kids. He couldn't believe that such an awful thing had happened to Arthur, especially this close to Christmas, but he was glad for the company. Remus was still out on assignment and he was starting to drink again, which was decidedly bad considering his track record.

A sniffle startled Sirius into action; he peered around the banister and nearly cried himself.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Harry lifted his head and gave his godfather a rueful grin. "Nothing."

"Hmph. You're not all teary eyed for 'nothing'. Come on, what's wrong?"

"It's my fault."

"What is?"

"That Mr. Weasley's hurt."

"Bah, he knew what he was getting into when he entered that building."

"No! I mean, I was there, I was the snake, I couldn't…I couldn't stop it."

"Shh, kiddo, c'mere," Sirius sat next to Harry and pulled him close, "It's not your fault, no Harry, it's not. You were asleep, it is not your fault, besides, I told you earlier, Arthur knew there was a possibility that he could be hurt."

Harry gave one more small sniff before curling further into his godfather's side. Sirius sighed, he knew that Harry didn't believe him, but figured that maybe, with Harry curled up next him, maybe it didn't matter tonight.

/page break/

Sirius stared in shock at Harry's horrified face as he fell backwards, his grin fading as the air was knocked out of him. He tried to move forward but the thin web-like veil kept moving him closer to the darkness. As the silky threads roped him in, Sirius Black closed his eyes and knew no more.

/page break/

"Taking forever…yeesh…I'm so bored!" Sirius cried as he paced back and forth across the living room. He kicked the red couch once and immediately regretted it. He hopped around on one foot, cursing something fierce.

"What is taking so long?"

"I mean it's not like I want him to die, but I don't want to be here by myself either…"

"GAH! You think he'd be here by now."

"Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored."

"Ugh…."

He perked up when a faint light started to sparkle on the red couch that he had just abused. Sirius grinned as he caught sight of the sandy blond hair. It was time.

THE END

A/N: So there it is. The end of Evolving Padfoot. I'm not entirely pleased with it, but that's how it is.

REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY!

Keep watch for the sequel to Something Sweet!


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